What happens in Cyprus, stays in Cyprus
by emilionaomikins
Summary: Naomi and Emily are both in Cyprus to get away from painful memories at home. They don't get off to the best start but end up forming an unlikely friendship. However, are they hiding their true feelings? One shot but could be more if people like it.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Ok so this is new. I have hit a bit of a wall with there's always a choice, mainly I think because I know it is nearing it's conclusion and I have enjoyed writing it so I feel a bit sad about it finishing but also because i want to make sure it is a good ending. But anyway, this idea came to me so I thought I'd give it a go.**

**Basically this is written as a one shot and I think it stands on it's own. However, if you'd be so kind as to review and let me know what you think I do have a very high level, sketchy, suck it and see plan for how it could progress as a story. If people like it as it is, I'll stop. If you want more, I'll see what I can do. **

* * *

Emily stared at the hotel that would be her home for the next two weeks, _what a shithole_ she thought before sighing.

It had all been her twin sister Katie's idea, apparently she needed to get over 'that bitch Melissa' by going away and 'getting her shit together'.

Emily laughed bitterly, _yeah, I needed to get away, but obviously not with Katie and her friends, can't have the boring twin cramping your style._

Katie had picked out the holiday for her and booked it.

"_Ems" she'd said "You'll like it. It's quiet and you can have some time to yourself; you know, to think about things. You won't like Ibiza, it'll be too full on for you."_

Emily shook her head, no, what Katie meant was "I don't need you tagging along and spoiling my holiday, fuck off somewhere else and deal with your pain."

The redhead exhaled, _oh well I'm here now and I suppose I should make the most of it._

She took hold of the handle of her case and started to move towards the entrance, suddenly out of nowhere she banged into someone.

She immediately apologised, "Shit, I'm sorry. I didn't see you."

A young blonde woman stood frantically rubbing her leg, finally she looked up, "Apparently not, why don't you watch the fuck where you're going?"

Emily's first thought was, _what amazing blue eyes, _but almost immediately it was replaced by indignation. "Excuse me, but you came out of nowhere and I'm pretty sure you banged into me."

The blonde sneered, "Is that so? Why did you apologise then?"

Emily blushed, she wasn't sure why, it was just what she did. That was her, the bookish, shy, apologetic twin, always in the background, always in the wrong.

"I thought it was polite, but obviously that was before I realised what a rude bitch you were." She had no idea where that came from, but it seemed to stop the woman in her tracks.

"If you were trying to be polite then you wouldn't have banged me with your case in the first place." The blonde said.

Emily shrugged, "Whatever, I said I was sorry. Can you get out of my way so I can check in, I wouldn't want to bang into you again."

She pulled her case and deliberately ran it over the blonde's foot, "Oops, seems you're not quick enough."

She walked up to the reception, _take that you fucking bitch_ she thought while smiling to herself.

* * *

Naomi stood with her mouth open, _did that fucker just run her case over my foot on purpose?_

She exhaled and tried not to think about the pain in her foot. At least it took her mind off the pain elsewhere, the pain that was with her since she found Cook shagging that barmaid in the toilets of their local pub. Of course he'd been apologetic.

"_Naomikins, please babe, it didn't mean nothin', you're my special girl." He'd pleaded with her._

Yeah right, so special that he found it hard to keep it in his pants. He was always sorry afterwards. She couldn't understand herself sometimes, she was normally so together, she didn't take shit off anyone. Anyone apart from Cook that is. It didn't help that he was her best friend, one of the few people who really understood her. She knew her few other friends didn't get it, why she let him walk all over her but he was with her when all of the stuff with her Dad happened, he'd helped her get through it, you don't write off support like that easily. But that seemed to make him think he was untouchable and that he could take the piss whenever he wanted. _Well he can fuck whoever he wants now_, she thought sadly.

She made her way into the reception and was annoyed when she saw the redhead from earlier was gone. _Doesn't matter_, she thought, _the hotel's not that big so I'm bound to see her again at some point, then I can make sure she regrets picking a fight with me._

* * *

Emily stood awkwardly at the welcome meeting, it was an excuse to sell her excursions she knew, but there was punch and food. She looked around, _fuck me they're all about 100_.

She saw a flash of blonde and stared at the woman who had run into her yesterday, well alright technically she'd run into the woman but all the same she was about the only other person in this place who was anywhere near her age. She moved over to where the blonde was standing.

"Hi, I guess we didn't get off to the best start. I'm Emily and I'm sorry about your foot." She ventured before offering her hand.

The blonde stared at her for a while before taking it, "Naomi, and I'm not sure I forgive you. My foot is fucking killing me."

Emily smiled, "Like I said sorry about that. I just figured seeing as everyone else here is practically dead I might as well come over."

She noticed the blonde, no Naomi, look around before turning back to her, "You're right, have we booked on a pensioners' holiday?"

"Well technically I didn't book this, it was my twin sister, she didn't want me to spoil her plans to go to Ibiza." Emily said. She blushed suddenly aware she was revealing personal information. She looked up into the amused expression of the blonde.

"So evil twin got rid of you by booking you on the first plane to boresville?" Naomi asked.

Emily shrugged, "It's probably where I belong."

She shifted slightly as Naomi stared at her. The blonde shook her head, "I mean I know we're the only two people here under 70 but you're not selling yourself that well."

Emily bristled, "Like you say we're the only two young people here so why do I need to sell myself? Hang out with grannies or hang out with me, the choice is yours."

Naomi stared at her, "Really? Don't you think that's a bit rude? I'm sure most of the people in the hotel are perfectly nice. We don't seem to get along so I might just stick to my own company thanks."

"Please yourself, I was trying to offer an olive branch and be friendly. On second thoughts I wish I hadn't bothered, I'm not exactly thrilled at the thought of spending time with you either." Emily said as she walked away.

* * *

Naomi watched her leave, she was surprised by the redhead, normally people didn't answer back. She sighed, maybe she was right and they might as well stick together. "Emily, wait." She saw the redhead turn.

"I didn't mean to be so defensive, I don't really like being told what to do, I sort of have authority issues. Are you going on any of the trips?" she asked.

Emily shrugged, "I know they're a rip off but there's one to some ancient ruins a week on Tuesday I might go on."

Naomi saw the redhead stop, suddenly aware of how boring that sounded. So she smiled, "That sounds like fun, would you mind if we went together?"

She watched as the redhead stared at her, trying to work out if she was taking the piss, "No, that would be ok, I suppose, wouldn't someone like you find it boring though?"

"What do you mean someone like me? You don't know the first thing about me." Naomi answered, aware she was being defensive again.

Emily exhaled, "You're right, I'm sorry. I just assumed you'd be into clubbing and having a good time."

"I might be into having a good time, it doesn't mean that I want to go out and get trashed all the time. I might have hidden depths." The blonde replied.

For the first time Naomi saw her smile, a genuine smile that reached her eyes. Naomi stopped as she noticed Emily's eyes for the first time.

_Jesus, how did I miss those before? They're beautiful. _She thought as she stared into the deep chocolate brown pools.

She forced herself to look away, suddenly aware she was staring. She coughed and risked a glance towards Emily again. The redhead was staring at her with a confused look on her face. Naomi found herself starting to blush.

They stood in awkward silence for a while before Emily broke it, "Er, so I suppose we should go and sign up for the trip then?"

Naomi nodded, not totally trusting herself to speak yet, and followed the redhead over to the tour rep.

They put their names down and paid the deposit before getting their tickets.

"So I might see you by the pool later?" Naomi suggested when they left the meeting, she wasn't sure why she'd said it, and she immediately regretted it as Emily's mouth formed into an O of surprise.

She was relieved when Emily smiled shyly at her and said, "Ok that would be nice."

_Fuck, there they are again, _Naomi thought as she found herself staring into the redhead's eyes and she became aware of a fluttering sensation in her stomach. She continued to stare as Emily walked away.

Naomi shook herself, and tried to gather the thoughts that were shooting through her brain at a million miles an hour.

She tutted before she turned and made her way back to her room. _What the hell is wrong with me? _

* * *

Later that day Emily walked down to the pool and was pleased to see Naomi was there. She didn't really understand why it mattered, it was a throwaway comment before. She stood next to the lounger by the blonde and gestured.

"Hi, do you mind if I sit here?" she asked, perfectly prepared for Naomi to have forgotten her invitation earlier.

"Not at all, I hoped you'd come." Naomi answered putting her book down.

To her surprise the blonde smiled and Emily's stomach flipped, _she's beautiful when she smiles, _she thought before sitting on the sun bed. She shook herself, _right stop that, it was falling for a charming smile that got you into this mess in the first place._

Emily placed her towel on the bed before carefully laying out her things, she had a book, her iphone, some sun cream and a bottle of water. She looked up to find the blonde staring at her, an amused look in her eyes.

"You've come well prepared I see," Naomi teased.

Emily blushed, "Sorry, I'm a bit of a geek about these things, I think I've caught it off my friend JJ, he's very meticulous."

Naomi laughed, "Is he now? So how come he's not here to sort it out in person?"

Emily coughed before looking away, "I'm here because I needed some space."

There was silence and Emily finally looked at the blonde, she was sitting with a frown on her face. Emily felt awkward, she hadn't meant to seem standoffish, but it was the truth and for some reason she felt comfortable being honest with Naomi.

"Look, if you don't want me bothering you I'm perfectly happy by myself," Naomi stated.

"That's not what I meant. I was trying to explain why I was here on my own. It doesn't mean I don't want company, you know, if you want to spend time with me." Emily stared defiantly.

Naomi held her gaze, clearly trying to size up the redhead. Emily was surprised when it was her who was the first to break eye contact, normally she could outstare anyone, but the blonde was looking at her with an intensity that made Emily uncomfortable. It felt like she was trying to see inside her head and that was the last thing Emily wanted.

They sat in awkward silence before Naomi finally spoke, "Look, I get the fact that you don't want me knowing anything about you, but it does limit the conversation topics. Why don't we reach an agreement?"

"What type of agreement?" Emily found herself asking, she hadn't wanted to be intrigued but she couldn't help herself.

Naomi sat up, "We both ask each other 10 questions which we've got to answer truthfully. After that we stick to safer, non personal, topics and can pretty much be whoever the hell we want."

Emily paused as she thought about the suggestion. It had a certain appeal, she could answer the 10 questions and then reinvent herself. She didn't need to be Emily, the boring twin, the one in Katie's shadow. She could be the fiery redhead, with danger as her middle name. She giggled at the thought of pretending she was so outgoing and when she looked up Naomi was smiling at her.

"You should laugh more often, it suits you." The blonde said, causing Emily to blush. "So do we have a deal?"

Emily nodded, "It seems like a good idea to me. So which one of us should go first?"

"We can take it in turns, you can start if you like. We can ask anything and it has to be answered honestly, but after the 10 questions are up that's it, we don't have to say anything else about our background for the rest of the time we're here." Naomi stated.

Emily paused, although 10 questions seemed like a lot she knew they could be wasted and that meant she'd have to think carefully about what she asked. Suddenly she knew what her first questions were.

"School or uni?" She asked.

"Uni" the blonde replied.

"Where and reading what?" Emily followed up.

"Goldsmiths in London, reading Politics." Naomi answered.

Emily nodded, it was a good university and being in London must be exciting. She waited for the first questions from the blonde.

Naomi smiled, "The same three questions to you."

Emily laughed, "Are you just going to copy me?"

Naomi raised her eyebrow, "Is that question number 4?"

Emily panicked, "No, it wasn't part of the questions. Uni, Oxford, reading English, well I will be in the autumn anyway."

Emily tried not to look pleased when she saw that the blonde was impressed. "When's your birthday?" she asked.

"August 6th." Naomi answered with a shrug.

Emily smiled ruefully, "So you're a leo?"

Naomi nodded, "Afraid so. Headstrong, loyal but unforgiving and I love to be the centre of attention. I'm a walking cliché sometimes. And you?"

"September 8th, which makes me a virgo, kind hearted, shy and a bit of a pushover. I don't believe in all that bollocks though, I'm a twin and if you ever met my sister you'd see how different two people born at virtually the same time on the same day can be." Emily paused, aware she was giving a bit of a speech.

Naomi was looking at her with an amused expression, "Thanks for the additional information. So that's four questions from me and five from you."

Emily interrupted, "How do you work that out? We've both asked the same things."

Naomi shook her head, "Yes but you asked me if I was a leo. You volunteered the information, I didn't."

_Damn it_, Emily thought, _I'll have to be more careful from now on. _"I want you to know I think you're being very unfair. How did you get here?"

Naomi laughed, "By plane, how else would you get to Cyprus?"

Emily raised her eyebrow but stayed silent, eventually the blonde relented, "Ok, I flew from Bristol, which is where my Mum lives."

Emily smiled at the new information, she was about to reply to the blonde but she realised that Naomi hadn't actually asked her a question. "You're not catching me out like that again, next question?"

"Where did you fly here from?" Naomi asked.

"Bristol as well, my parents live there, well I live there too at least until I go away to uni." Emily replied. "When do you go back?"

"Are you bored of my company already?" Naomi said with a smile.

"Is that a question?" Emily quipped.

Now it was the blonde's turn to panic, "Hey, that doesn't count. I'm flying back the Sunday after next. You?"

"Me too, we must have been on the same flight out here. I don't remember seeing you. Not that I would be looking or anything." Emily stammered.

Naomi shook her head, "I've already been here a week."

Emily looked puzzled, "So how come you were at the welcome meeting?"

Naomi laughed, "You don't turn down free food and drink. Anyway, I missed it last week and I was starting to get bored so I thought I might turn up and see if I ran into anyone interesting."

"And did you?" Emily asked playfully. _Stop it, stop it, you're flirting with her,_ she thought, _if there is one way to guarantee scaring her off it's by flirting, calm down and just enjoy the fact you've made a new friend._

Naomi squinted at the redhead, "It seems to be going ok so far, we'll have to wait and see. That must be all our questions by now."

Emily cried out in protest, "It can't be, we've hardly found anything out about each other. There must be at least one more each."

The blonde shrugged, "Ok, why are you here? I mean I know you said you needed some space before, so what are you getting space from?"

Emily sighed, "Ah, the six million dollar question. Well I suppose we said we'd be honest so here goes nothing."

She paused, she wasn't bothered about telling people she was gay, she'd come to terms with it ages ago as had her family and friends. However, she knew some people still had a problem with it, which was ridiculous in this day and age, but it happened. She didn't think Naomi was like that but you never knew what reaction you would get and she didn't want to make things awkward. She looked up from her internal dialogue to find Naomi staring at her intently.

Emily took a deep breath, "Katie my sister booked this for me because I've just been through a shitty break up with my girlfriend and she thought I could do with some time to get over it. Her name is Melissa and I thought I was in love with her, but unfortunately she didn't feel the same. She was seeing someone else behind my back the whole time we were dating, which admittedly was only six months, and eventually she decided she preferred them to me so she dumped me, after making sure she'd got a farewell shag of course."

She looked at the blonde unable to read her expression, _please be ok with this_ she silently pleaded.

Naomi continued to stare at her before saying, "I'm sorry she cheated on you, it's a bitch. For what it's worth, I think she's an idiot, you know, for being unfaithful to you."

Emily let out the breath she hardly knew she'd been keeping in, not only did it seem Naomi didn't care about her being gay, she was pretty sure she'd just been complimented by the blonde. "So why are you here alone then?"

Naomi smiled bitterly, "Same reason as you, except it was my boyfriend who I caught shagging a barmaid in the toilets of our local pub. It wasn't the first time either, but I keep taking him back and stupidly believing him when he says he won't do it again."

Emily tried to hide the surprise on her face, _my gaydar must need recalibrating_. She also couldn't understand how Naomi would let herself be treated like that by anyone.

Naomi stared at her, "I know what you're thinking. I don't seem to be the type of person to put up with that shit right? Well if it was anyone apart from Cook I wouldn't, but we've grown up together and he helped me a lot when my Dad walked out on me and my Mum."

"But that's no reason to let him walk all over you, in fact I would have thought the fact you've been through a lot together would make him less likely to cheat." Emily opined.

Naomi shrugged, "I know, but I think he figures the bond is strong enough to take it. Normally he'd be right, but this time something just snapped and so I finished things and ran away here."

Emily smiled at her, "For what it's worth, I think he sounds like a total dick. I can't believe anyone would cheat on someone as beautiful as you."

Inwardly Emily groaned, _oh my God, why did I have to say that? So basically I've just told her I'm gay and now I've called her beautiful, could I be any more obvious._

Naomi stared at her before a smile appeared on her face. "That gives me a very good idea for my final question."

Emily began to protest but was cut off by the blonde, "We agreed, I had one extra question."

Emily found herself pouting before she mumbled, "It's still not fair, but go on then."

Naomi looked directly at her, "So Emily, my final question for you, and remember you have to be honest, is do you think I'm attractive?"

Emily blushed and looked down at her hands, _why the fuck did I have to ask that additional question, this is totally embarrassing and she knows it. _She thought before sighing. _Well there's only one thing for it I suppose, so I might as well get it over and done with._

She looked up and stared directly into the expectant and amused blue eyes. Jesus, with eyes like those how could she not find the blonde attractive. "Yes Naomi, I think you're very attractive, in fact I think you're stunning."

Naomi continued to stare at her before giving a slight nod of the head, she seemed satisfied but not totally surprised by the redhead's answer, "Thank you, it's always a confidence boost to be told you're attractive, especially when your boyfriend seems to be doing his best to make you think otherwise."

Emily smiled and relaxed, "Like I said, he sounds like a total dick."

* * *

Naomi shielded her eyes as she made her way outside to the pool and quickly put her sunglasses on. It was Thursday and she was hung over again. She and Emily had got into a sort of routine over the past few days, they would meet by the pool and spend the day together before going out for dinner at night. Although the hotel they were in was a bit dull, there were plenty of bars locally that stayed open until the early hours of the morning. Inevitably Naomi turned up at the pool after the redhead, and she normally felt a lot more shit than Emily for some reason.

She made her way over to the sun lounger next to Emily and plonked herself down before picking up the toasted sandwich the redhead had got her from the pool bar, "What is it today?"

Emily smiled, "Well given the amount of vodka you put away last night I figured it was a ham, cheese _and_ tomato day."

Naomi nodded as she bit into the sandwich, "Too bloody right, I barely feel human."

"Serves you right for drinking so much, you should do what I do and have water every alternate drink." Emily replied.

Naomi snorted, "I really don't want to think about how boring you must be normally if this is you being wild."

Emily wished she hadn't told the blonde she was going to act out of character and let her hair down on this holiday.

"Go fuck yourself" the redhead replied turning back to her book.

Naomi smiled, "Surely you'd prefer to do it for me?"

Emily rolled her eyes, "In your dreams."

Since Emily's admission she found the blonde attractive Naomi had taken great pleasure in teasing her about it at every available opportunity. She was always making suggestive remarks or flirting with the redhead and she accused Emily of having a crush on her at least twice a day. Most of the time Emily didn't mind and went along with the games, it was actually quite good fun.

_I bet Naomi wouldn't be so keen to flirt with me if she knew what was in my dreams lately,_ Emily thought. Although the redhead had tried to deny it to herself, it was getting harder to ignore the fact that she seriously fancied the blonde. She knew it would never amount to anything as Naomi was straight, but it was starting to become obvious that she was having thoughts about her that were not the type of thoughts you had about a friend. She found herself going red as she though back to the dream she'd had last night, which involved a very naked Naomi and a swimming pool.

She coughed before looking at the blonde, who had finished her sandwich and was lying on her front reading her book. Emily couldn't stop her eyes from wandering over Naomi's body. She started at her feet and followed the line of her shapely legs up to her thighs. She let her gaze rest on the gorgeous arse which was framed perfectly in the ice blue bikini the blonde was wearing, _God I could bite right into that_ she thought as she licked her lips. She forced her eyes further up Naomi's form, across the silky smooth back which was now turning a golden brown colour. Naomi had undone the back of her bikini top to prevent a mark and Emily could see the outline of the blonde's breast, Emily's breath hitched slightly as another wave of dirty thoughts crossed her mind. Finally she glanced down the blonde's arms where the hairs were being bleached by the sun and let her gaze stop at Naomi's perfect hands. Her fingers were beautiful and Emily couldn't stop herself from letting out a small moan as she thought about exactly where she wanted those fingers to be right now.

She was brought out of her daydream by a chuckle from Naomi, "Jesus Em, could you stop perving for just a second please, it practically feels like you're fucking me."

Emily blushed "I wasn't perving, I was reading my book."

Naomi laughed, "Emily, you've been on the same page for the last five minutes and I could feel you staring at me."

Emily sighed and decided to change the subject, "So what happened with what's his face last night? Did you shag him?"

Naomi raised her eyebrow, "If by what's his face you mean Dan, then I'm not telling you what happened. A lady never kisses and tells."

Emily snorted, "I wouldn't exactly call you a lady, especially given you were practically surgically attached to his face. I'll take that as a yes then."

"Does it make you jealous?" Naomi teased.

Emily was overcome with jealousy but she wasn't going to let the blonde know, "Not really, he wasn't my type, and nor were any of the others from earlier in the week."

"Ha ha, very amusing. Don't say 'any of the others' like that, it makes me sound like a total slut." Naomi replied.

"Well if the cap fits..." Emily said with a smirk.

Naomi squinted at her, "Cow. For your information, not that I need to justify myself to you, I haven't slept with anyone this week, it's just been messing around snogging and letting them feel me up a bit."

"Charming, that makes you sound much less like a slut." Emily said smiling, secretly she was pleased Naomi hadn't shagged anyone.

"Hey if I wanted to be a slut I would have had plenty of opportunity. Chris from Tuesday wanted me to give him a blow job, in fact he got quite pissed off when I said no. Jesus I hardly ever do that with Cook, let alone a practical stranger." Naomi said indignantly.

"Well maybe that's why Cook keeps cheating on you then." Emily said before she could stop herself. She had meant it as a joke but she could see from the blonde's face that she had crossed a line.

"Naomi, I'm sorry, I didn't mean that. It was supposed to be a joke." The redhead started.

Naomi stared at her before turning away, "Fuck off, jokes are supposed to be funny Emily, that was just bitchy."

Emily tried again, "Really Naomi, I am sorry, I didn't mean to upset you."

After a couple of minutes the redhead turned back to her book, it was obvious she was going to get the silent treatment for the rest of the day.

* * *

Naomi stared round the bar on the lookout for a random bloke she could get off with tonight. Maybe Emily was right and she was behaving like a slut, but it took her mind off Cook and made her feel desirable. Well technically that wasn't true, after the alcohol had worn off she felt empty again but for a while it made her feel wanted. She sighed and turned to the bar looking for Emily, who had gone to get some drinks ages ago.

_She's probably avoiding me_, she thought. Naomi had pretty much ignored her after the earlier comment she made about Cook and they were just about speaking to each other again. She felt bad for being a bitch all day but the redhead's remark had really hurt her. The worst thing about it was she was now starting to wonder if Emily was right, did Cook cheat on her because she refused to do certain things and so he found someone who would. She shook herself, she was being stupid, she'd found him shagging and that was definitely something Naomi did and Cook had never complained.

She felt agitated, maybe tonight she should screw someone or at least have an orgasm. She laughed to herself, yeah right like most blokes could get that right, especially the first time. Cook was good in bed but even he needed training, _well he's certainly getting plenty of practice now._

_Where the fuck is Emily with those drinks, _she thought before spotting the redhead at the end of the bar. She was chatting to a small dark haired woman and suddenly Naomi saw her laugh.

_She's beautiful when she laughs like that, she looks so carefree._ Naomi thought and then stopped herself. _Where the fuck did that come from? God, maybe I've been spending too much time with Em and some of the gayness is rubbing off._

She chuckled to herself at the thought of her ever being gay, it was ridiculous she was definitely a cock cruncher not muff muncher. _I definitely need to come at some point tonight_ she thought _even if I have to do it myself. The lack of action is clearly getting to me._

She looked at the redhead again and a frown formed on her face as she saw the other woman place her hand on Emily's arm. The action irritated her and she didn't know why, well maybe she did a bit, it seemed quite intimate. But it didn't matter why, she didn't like it. She made her way over to the pair of them and forced a smile onto her face.

"There you are, I was dying of thirst waiting for my drink." She said nicely to the redhead.

Emily looked at her in surprise, "Oh so we're best buddies again now are we?"

Naomi playfully pushed her, "Don't be daft Ems, it was a silly argument."

Emily eyed her incredulously, "So you've been giving me the cold shoulder all day over a silly argument?"

Naomi rolled her eyes, "Honestly, you really overreact sometimes." She motioned towards the woman next to the redhead, "So aren't you going to introduce me?"

Emily sighed, "Naomi this is Abi, Abi meet Naomi."

The blonde held her hand out and made sure she firmly shook Abi's hand, "Nice to meet you."

Abi looked at her strangely, the words had come from the blonde's mouth but her expression didn't match, she clearly didn't think it was nice to meet her at all.

"So have you two been friends for long?" Abi asked.

Emily was about to answer when the blonde cut across her, "Not long no, but we've become incredibly close in a short space of time haven't we Em?"

Emily stared at Naomi, if she didn't know any better she'd say that the blonde was warning Abi off. Emily shook her head, _don't be stupid, why on earth would Naomi do that? _She handed Naomi her drink and motioned with her eyes for the blonde to bugger off and leave her to it.

Naomi deliberately misunderstood and pulled up a stool, making sure she sat in between Emily and Abi, "So Abi, how long are you staying here?"

Abi took a sip of her drink, "Actually, I'm leaving tomorrow."

"Oh that's a shame," Naomi replied, her voice dripping with insincerity.

Emily tried desperately to catch her eye again, _why the fuck is she being so awkward? _Finally she got Naomi's attention but she was mortified when the blonde said loudly, "Is everything ok Em? There seems to be something wrong with your eye."

Emily sighed and hissed at her, "Will you fuck off and leave us alone please?"

Naomi smiled at her, "Sorry I didn't catch that. You'll need to speak up."

Emily narrowed her eyes and exhaled loudly before turning to Abi, "I don't suppose you'd like to dance would you?"

Abi nodded, "I'd love to but thought you'd never ask."

Naomi huffed as the two of them made their way to the small dance floor and began to move in time to the music. She turned to the bartender and ordered a vodka, "Only this time make it a double."

Her attention moved back to the redhead and her dance partner, Abi had her arms wrapped around Emily's neck and was leaning in close, whispering something in her ear. Emily laughed and moved her hands so they were resting on Abi's hips. Naomi downed her drink in one, grimacing at the hot sensation as the alcohol passed down her throat. She ordered another.

Naomi continued to watch Emily and Abi dancing and she became increasingly irritated. _The fucking slut has got her hands all over Emily, she hardly even knows her,_ she thought. She was brought out of her musings by a tap on the shoulder, she turned to look who had tried to get her attention and was surprised to find a brunette woman standing in front of her.

She smiled, "Hi I'm Diane, I thought you might like to dance or at least let me buy you a drink?"

Naomi stared at her in confusion, _was she being hit on by a woman? Fuck it,_ she thought, _a drink is a drink._

"I'm Naomi and I'll have a vodka please, but you should know I'm not gay." She replied.

Diane smiled at her, "Fair enough Naomi, if you say so. I thought the way you were staring at the redhead on the dance floor might indicate that you were."

Naomi shook her head, "Sorry, I'm straight, she's just a friend and I always make sure I look out for my friends, especially when they are dancing with total tarts."

Diane laughed as she placed the vodka in front of her, "She's clearly very lucky to have such a great friend like you look out for her."

Naomi stared at her, "You're right she is very lucky to have me as a friend."

* * *

"The thing is..." Naomi paused, "Diane, that's it. The thing is. What was the thing?"

Diane smiled, "You were telling me, again, why it was important for you to keep an eye on Emily."

"That's right, now I remember. Emily is my friend and I don't want her to get hurt by another bitch. She should be happy, because she's lovely." The blonde was slurring slightly.

"She looks pretty happy to me." Diane nodded over to the dance floor.

Naomi turned to look at Emily, she and Abi were now dancing very close to each other and the blonde felt her hand curl into a fist when she saw Abi lean in and kiss the redhead. "Fucking slapper."

Diane coughed, "Naomi, please tell me to mind my own business but doesn't it occur to you that you might be a tiny bit jealous?"

Naomi stared at her before laughing, "Why would I be jealous? She's fucking off home tomorrow while I get to spend another week and a half with Emily."

Diane raised her eyebrow, "So you're telling me that you've spent most of the time I've been sitting here talking about Emily and how lovely she is and how you need to look after her. You've insulted her dance partner and you look like you are going to punch someone any minute now, but that's not because you're jealous?"

Naomi shook her head and nearly fell off her stool, "Nope, not jealous of that stupid bitch even if she has got her hands all over Emily. She's my friend, not hers."

She looked at the brunette, "What? Why are you laughing at me like that? It's not funny."

Diane nodded before getting up "Oh yes it is, this is one of the worst cases of denial I've ever come across."

Naomi began to protest but the brunette stopped her, "It was nice meeting you Naomi and a word of advice, you should make up your mind soon, because she won't be single for long."

Naomi stared over to the redhead, was Diane right that she was jealous? Well maybe a little bit but only because her friend was ignoring her, not because she fancied her or anything, that was a stupid idea.

As she continued to stare she saw Emily break apart from Abi and walk back towards her. When she reached the bar she sat down next to the blonde.

"No Dan or John or whoever stuck to your face this evening?" Emily said with a smile.

Naomi sneered at her, "It would appear that you've got the slutty behaviour covered enough for the pair of us tonight _Em_."

She saw a look of confusion pass across the redhead's face, "Naomi, is everything ok?"

"Yeah, everything is fine, I mean I love sitting here on my own like Billy no mates while you snog some random bird, where is she by the way?" Naomi spat at her.

Emily stared at her, "She's gone to the toilet. I don't get why you're so bothered, I mean you've left me on my own for most of the week so far when you snogged a different random bloke every night, what's the difference?"

"Oh I don't know, it just feels different ok?" Naomi replied.

Emily started to get annoyed, "Oh I see it feels different when it happens to you, but you couldn't give a fuck when I'm on my own."

Naomi stared at her, "That's not what I meant, I meant it feels different tonight. Oh look I don't know anything, I'm shit faced and tired. I'm going back to the hotel, I'll see you in the morning, if you aren't too worn out to make it down to the pool. Say goodbye to Ally or whatever her name is."

Emily watched her leave with a puzzled look on her face, she was still frowning when Abi found her again.

"Hey, is everything ok?" Abi asked when she saw the look on Emily's face.

Emily smiled, "Yeah, everything is fine. My friend Naomi had to leave and she was in a bit of a funny mood that's all."

"Her jealousy got the better of her then?" Abi said.

Emily looked at her, "What do you mean, why would Naomi be jealous? She could have her pick of the men in here."

Abi tilted her head to one side, "I don't think she wanted any of the men tonight."

Emily shook her head, "Oh no, you've got that all wrong. Naomi is straight, she's not into women."

Abi raised her eyebrow, "Maybe she doesn't like women generally, but there's definitely one she's into. Come on Emily, don't tell me you didn't see the way she was looking at you?"

Emily thought back, "I suppose she was staring at me a bit, but she was pissed off I'd left her on her own."

Abi smiled, "Emily she looked like she wanted to tear my head off. I thought you knew but weren't interested."

Emily continued to look confused, "Really Abi, I've been having a great time with you. You've got it wrong about Naomi, honestly."

The dark haired woman smiled and leaned in to peck her on the cheek. "Thanks for a lovely last night of my holiday Emily. But I think you need to talk to your friend."

Emily stared after the second woman to walk out on her this evening. _Well that's a great advert for my charm_, she thought before heading back to the hotel.

* * *

Emily wearily made her way back to her room and was shocked to see Naomi sitting outside her door.

The blonde looked up as she approached, "Hi, I didn't expect you back so soon."

Emily helped her up and opened the door, "Do you want to come in?"

Naomi nodded, "If that's ok."

Emily gestured for Naomi to enter the room and she switched on the light after closing the door quietly behind her. "I've got some vodka if you want?"

Naomi sat on the bed and nodded. Emily went into the bathroom and got two glasses before pouring them two measures. They sat in silence for a while.

"Look Em, I'm sorry if I spoilt your night. I shouldn't have been so pissed off." Naomi said quietly.

Emily looked at her, "I don't understand why you didn't just pull tonight. I thought we'd be able to have a laugh about it tomorrow, you know the fact that I managed to get a snog at last."

"So you didn't..." Naomi let the question hang.

Emily looked shocked, "Not that it's any of your business, but no I didn't. Jesus you only left 15 minutes ago, how crap a shag do you think I am?"

Naomi gave her a weak smile, "I hadn't really thought about it."

Emily continued to stare at the blonde, "Naomi, what did you mean when you said it felt different tonight. What felt different?"

Naomi sighed, "I don't know. I saw you with her and it made me angry."

"Why?" Emily asked.

The blonde got up, "I don't know, it just did." She paused before continuing quietly, "I was jealous, don't ask me why but I was, ok?"

"Was it because I wasn't paying you enough attention, because I was ignoring you?" Emily ventured.

Naomi paced up and down before sitting back down next to the redhead, she took a large gulp of vodka and looked into Emily's eyes. "Oh Christ, look Em, I was jealous of her, that Abi person ok? She had her hands all over you and it made me want to punch her, because I wished it was me."

Emily stared at the deep blue pools that were looking at her so intensely, she slowly took both glasses and set them down. She moved forward slightly and gently brushed her lips against the blonde's, she tasted of alcohol and coconut.

Naomi pulled away and bit her bottom lip, "Oh. This is just because we're drunk right?"

Emily nodded and was surprised when Naomi leant towards her and tentatively kissed her again. Without breaking contact they both moved so they were closer together and Emily pressed her lips harder against the blonde's. Naomi ran her hand through the redhead's hair and pulled her deeper into the kiss.

Emily cautiously ran her tongue along the blonde's bottom lip and was again surprised when Naomi didn't pull away. Instead she flicked the end of the redhead's tongue with her own and Emily couldn't stop a moan escaping. The sound seemed to spur the blonde on and she gently pulled on Emily's lip before pushing her tongue further into the redhead's mouth.

They continued to kiss for the next few minutes and the intensity began to increase. Naomi groaned as she felt Emily's hand lightly brush her breast and she responded by moving down and kissing Emily's neck. The redhead moved her head back and sighed as the blonde gently nibbled along her collarbone. Finally they broke apart and sat staring at each other.

"I suppose I should go." Naomi said, breaking the silence.

Emily nodded, "I guess so, it's pretty late."

The blonde stood up, "So I'll see you by the pool in the morning?"

Emily smiled, the relief evident on her face, "Of course. Any preference for your toastie?"

Naomi shook her head as she walked to the door, "Surprise me."

* * *

A few nights later Emily sat in one of the local bars, nursing the end of the vodka in front of her. She glanced over to the bar where Naomi was getting them both another drink. She sighed. Things had moved on considerably since the night they'd kissed but the redhead wasn't sure how she felt about it all.

_She had been surprised to see Naomi at the pool before her the following day and she was fully expecting things to be awkward. Instead Naomi had behaved totally normally, almost as if nothing had happened. Emily didn't want to spoil things so she didn't raise it. As it turned out she didn't need to. After they had eaten dinner on Friday night they'd gone to a bar as usual, they'd had a few drinks before heading back to the hotel. Naomi had walked with her back to her room but instead of leaving she had followed her inside. Almost as soon as Emily had shut the door Naomi was pressing their lips together again, although this time there was more of a hunger about the kisses._

_At one point the blonde had stopped and stared at Emily, "This is just because we're drunk right? I mean you know I'm not gay?"_

_Emily had nodded, she was desperate to kiss Naomi again. They hadn't done much more than kiss that night but it was clear it was only a matter of time._

_Last night they had slept together, well strictly that wasn't true. Naomi had basically fucked Emily's thigh until she came. Naturally, it was only after insisting she was drunk and not gay. Emily hadn't really got anything out of it but that didn't seem to matter. Afterwards Naomi had quickly got dressed, clearly embarrassed and gone back to her own room._

Emily sighed again as she reached the end of her drink. Part of her wanted not to care, they were totally normal during the day and she enjoyed spending time with the blonde. At night at least she got to be with Naomi and she didn't have to feel jealous while watching the blonde snog the face of some bloke. But it wasn't enough and she knew she did mind the fact that it was so devoid of intimacy apart from the kissing at the beginning. She wanted to be close to Naomi, she wanted Naomi to want her back and not see her as some sort of way to get herself off before scurrying back to her room.

She was interrupted from her thoughts by Naomi placing a drink in front of her,

"Let's make this our last one." the blonde suggested.

"Fine, then we can go back to the hotel." Emily stated staring directly at her.

Naomi blushed, "Yeah, then we'll go back."

They quickly finished their drinks and made their way back to the hotel in silence. As normal they made their way straight to Emily's room. Once inside Naomi quickly got undressed and got into bed. Emily followed suit and reached out for the blonde in the dark. She crashed their lips together and moaned as Naomi's tongue sought out her own.

They continued to kiss for a few minutes before Naomi moved on top of the redhead. As their eyes adjusted to the dark Emily could see the blonde staring at her as she began to move against her. Emily moved her hands onto Naomi's hips and pressed her into her body.

Naomi paused, "This is just the drink isn't it? I'm not gay."

Emily nodded, "You're drunk and it doesn't mean anything."

She was surprised as the blonde reached down for her hand and moved it between her thighs.

"I need to feel something inside," Naomi stated before pushing the redhead's fingers inside her.

Emily began to move her fingers in and out of Naomi and the blonde responded by letting out a moan before beginning to thrust her hips in time with the redhead.

Emily sighed, _here we go again, I might as well not be here._

She looked at the blonde who had arched her back and had her eyes tightly screwed shut. _It's like she's trying to convince herself she's with someone else, that she's not being fucked by a girl, like she's not with me. _Emily thought sadly.

She couldn't ignore the hurt any longer and a tear rolled down her cheek. When Melissa had screwed her and then told her she was seeing someone else Emily had vowed that she'd never be used like that again, it had made her feel worthless and she thought she'd never feel as bad again. Yet here she was, in bed with someone she had started to develop feelings for and whom she hoped might begin to feel the same way about her. But instead Naomi was simply letting her fuck her, anything else might be admitting she was gay, which apparently was the worst thing in the world. Emily had never been ashamed of who she was or of being gay, but she felt ashamed now, like she was part of a dirty little secret.

She turned her attention back to the blonde who was now panting as she continued to thrust against Emily's hand.

"Oh God...yes...yes...oh shit." Naomi tensed up and groaned loudly as she came. She collapsed on top of the redhead trying to get her breath back.

Once her breathing had slowed she said, "Fuck, I needed that."

She opened her eyes and stared shyly at Emily, the embarrassment was clear on her face and she quickly got up and began to dress. Emily pulled the covers up and gripped them tightly to her chest. Once she was fully clothed Naomi sat on the bed next to Emily.

"It's late, I should go, but I'll see you tomorrow by the pool." She leant down to kiss the redhead and was surprised as Emily turned her head away.

"Sorry kissing's not allowed, it's too intimate. You can leave the money on the bedside table." Emily said, the hurt obvious in her voice.

Naomi looked confused, "What do you mean the money?"

Emily turned to face her, "Well normally when you go to a whore you have to pay, I don't see why I should be any different."

"Emily, I don't think you're a whore." Naomi stated.

Emily laughed, "Really, so why do I feel like one? Laying there while you deign to let me fuck you, sounds pretty much like a prostitute to me. You know what, better still keep the money and invest in a vibrator. At least it'll be ok for the thing helping you get off to be inanimate."

"Emily please, I didn't mean to upset you." Naomi protested.

The redhead snorted, "Well tough shit Naomi, because you have. Just go back to your room."

The blonde rose from the bed and made her way to the door, as she was about to leave she turned round, "I really am sorry."

Emily stayed silent and it wasn't until she heard the door close that she finally allowed herself to cry.

* * *

The next day Emily didn't go down to the pool, she didn't want to face Naomi and have to deal with the awkwardness. She made her way down to the beach and found a secluded spot. She placed her towel down and got her book and iphone out. She sat down and placed the earphones in before flicking through her playlist and selecting the Cardigans 'Gran Tourismo' on shuffle, which always made her feel better.

She sighed as the first notes of Erase/Rewind came through the earphones. _I wish I could erase and rewind last night_, she thought. She looked across the sand towards the azure sea.

She shook her head and said to herself, "Jesus, I've got it bad. The sand reminds me of her hair and the sea reminds me of her eyes, although her eyes are more beautiful."

She couldn't deny it, she felt guilty about the way she'd spoken to Naomi and she missed her company. But then she stopped herself, why should she feel bad about saying how she felt? If Naomi didn't want to be her friend, or whatever the hell she was, after that then it was her problem, not Emily's.

_So why do I feel so shit?_ She thought sadly.

She stayed at the beach until she finished her book, the sun was starting to set anyway. She'd eaten at one of the beach bars and tried not to feel sorry for herself as she sat alone. On the way back to the hotel she'd stopped at the supermarket and picked up some things to eat and a bottle of vodka. She wouldn't be going out tonight and Naomi would be free to find another random bloke to snog or maybe shag. Emily tried not to think about the stab of jealousy and hurt that thought caused.

She sat in her room and poured herself a drink before opening a packet of crisps and switching the telly on. _All I need now is the 20 cats and my descent into lonely spinster land will be complete_ she thought as she absentmindedly flicked through the channels.

There was a knock at her door, it was so quiet she almost missed it. She quickly pressed mute on the remote but knew it was probably too late. There was a pause before the knock came again, this time louder and more insistent.

"Emily I know you're in there, I heard the TV," the blonde's voice came through the door.

Emily sighed and got up to answer, she opened the door before turning round and walking back into the room.

"What do you want?" she asked wearily not even looking at the blonde.

Naomi shut the door and followed her inside, she was holding a bottle of vodka, "You didn't come down to the pool today, I wanted to make sure you were ok."

Emily sighed, "I didn't want to see you so I went to the beach instead."

"I missed you, it wasn't any fun." the blonde stated shyly.

Emily looked at her in surprise, before her expression softened, "I missed your company too, I read a lot but it was pretty boring not having anyone to talk to. Do you want a drink?"

Naomi nodded and accepted the vodka offered to her. She crossed the room until she was standing in front of the redhead.

"Emily, I..." she started but was interrupted by the redhead's finger on her lips.

"It's ok, I'm sorry for spoiling things." Emily stated.

Naomi was enjoying the feel of Emily's finger on her lips and she sighed as all rational thought left her brain. She shook herself and thought, _No, this isn't right, it's not Emily's fault, she didn't spoil anything. _She removed the redhead's finger and noticed Emily looked hurt.

"Don't look like that, I hoped we could talk?" she said sitting on the bed.

Emily sat down beside her, "Ok, but I've already apologised."

Naomi sighed, "You haven't got anything to apologise for, I'm the one who needs to say sorry for being so selfish. You were right last night, I was treating you like a prostitute, like someone who was there just to help me come but not get anything in return."

"It's not a competition Naomi, we don't need to count up how many orgasms we each have and make sure we're equal." Emily said in an annoyed voice.

Naomi shook her head, "I know, that wasn't what I meant. I'm sorry that I acted like I didn't care that you were there, that the only thing I was interested in was getting myself off."

Emily looked at her, "So why did you behave like that?"

Naomi looked at her hands, "I'm not sure... I suppose I was...I don't know..."

She exhaled and raised her head so she was looking at Emily again, "I was scared, you know because I was in bed with a girl and I liked it.

Emily continued to stare at her, "Why does it scare you so much?"

Naomi gulped, "Because... because..." she sighed, "I really like you Emily, I mean you're a really lovely person and I enjoy spending time with you, but I also _like_ you. As in I'm really attracted to you and I'm not sure how to deal with that as I've never felt like this about a girl before."

Emily smiled, "I suppose I have had more practice. Naomi, I really like you too, I think you're beautiful. But I don't want to feel like I'm some sort of predatory lesbian intent on turning the straight girl, I want you to feel ok about this and if you don't then I think we need to be friends and nothing more."

A look of panic spread across Naomi's face, "Believe me that's not what I want, I'm just asking you to give me some time to get used to it."

"Take all the time you need, I don't want to push you. I..." Emily was surprised as she was interrupted by the blonde's lips being pressed against hers.

As she pulled away Naomi said, "I guess I didn't need as much time as I thought."

She placed their glasses on the table before gently pushing Emily onto the bed. She stroked the redhead's cheek before seeking her mouth again. They kissed for several minutes neither of them deepening it, both just enjoying the feel of the other's lips on their own.

Eventually they broke for air and Emily sighed, "I know what you're going to say so I'll do it first. It's only the drink and I know you're not gay, ok?"

Naomi smiled and moved so she was close to Emily's ear, the redhead could feel the blonde's breath on her neck and it made goosebumps appear all over her skin.

"Actually I'm not even remotely drunk and haven't been the whole time. And for the record, I think I might be a little bit gay because I seriously have the hots for you." Naomi whispered before rising to look at Emily.

Emily's eyes widened at the blonde's admission and she pulled Naomi towards her into another kiss. This time it was more urgent and Naomi moaned as she felt the redhead pull on her bottom lip. The blonde ran her tongue over Emily's top lip before she sought entrance to the redhead's mouth. Their tongues continued to seek each other almost duelling to see which one would get control. Finally Naomi pulled away.

"I know were not keeping count, but I'm pretty sure you're in deficit in the orgasm stakes." Naomi said.

The redhead nodded, her breath coming in short bursts, "I think you might be right."

Naomi undid the top button of Emily's shirt and kissed the newly exposed skin underneath. She continued to undo the buttons one by one, each time stopping to kiss the redhead's skin. Eventually the shirt was undone and Naomi opened it fully revealing Emily's taut stomach. She leaned down and ran her tongue up the redhead's torso and neck before once again kissing her on the lips.

"How am I doing so far?" she asked with a glint in her eyes.

Emily smiled, "Not bad for a newborn." She reached up and took off Naomi's t-shirt and undid her bra.

"That was expertly done," Naomi said with a smile.

Emily winked at her, "It's not the first time I've done it."

Naomi lifted her up and removed her shirt, she reached around the redhead's back and undid her bra first time, "I guess I'm a quick learner, now where was I?"

She pushed the redhead back onto the bed and began to trail kisses down her body, when she reached her breast she slowly circled the nipple with her tongue before flicking it. She ran her tongue over to Emily's other breast and repeated the action causing the redhead to moan. Naomi moved her hand down the redhead's body and undid her skirt, sliding it off in a single movement. Her knickers followed shortly.

She started to suck Emily's breasts but was stopped by the redhead "I need to feel your skin against mine."

Naomi smiled and quickly discarded her own jeans and underwear, before continuing to explore more of Emily's body. She ran her tongue across the redhead's stomach and smiled as Emily gasped. Naomi trailed kisses down the outside of Emily's leg before running her tongue up the inside of her thigh. Again she repeated the action on the other leg, stopping short before she reached the top.

She glanced up and saw Emily had her head thrown back with her eyes closed. The redhead noticed the lack of contact and looked down at the blonde, who licked her lips and silently asked permission to continue.

Emily bit her lip and quickly nodded. She moaned softly as the blonde's tongue moved between her thighs and repeated the motion it had done on her breasts, slowly circling and flicking. Emily by no means considered herself inexperienced but this sensation was something else, she had never felt this turned on before. She felt herself pushing her hips up to meet the blonde who responded by thrusting two fingers inside her. Emily felt totally out of control as her hips began to buck in time with the thrusts of Naomi's fingers and the rhythm of her tongue.

Naomi continued her actions and gradually increased her speed until Emily's body felt like it was on fire.

"Oh Jesus." Was all the redhead could manage to say before her mind went blank and the only sound escaping her mouth was a low growl. She pushed her hips towards the blonde, who pressed her tongue hard against her and thrust her fingers deep inside the redhead. Emily let out a strangled cry as her orgasm took over and she gripped Naomi tight between her thighs.

Emily relaxed her hold and they both lay on the bed panting with sweat dripping from their bodies.

Eventually, once their breathing had slowed, Naomi moved up the bed and lay beside Emily.

"Was that as good for you as it was for me?" she asked with a grin.

Emily smiled, "That was fucking amazing."

Naomi looked at her watch and noticed a worried look cross the redhead's face, "What is it Em?"

"I suppose it's late and you have to go back to your room?" Emily said with a sigh.

Naomi leaned over and kissed her, "Actually I thought I might stay here if that's ok with you? I was just seeing how much sleep we'll get given that we're going on our trip tomorrow."

Emily smiled at her shyly, "Oh, I'd love you to stay and I've already set the alarm"

Naomi got under the covers and after Emily had done the same the blonde pulled her close, "Of course if you could think of something interesting to do we could always stay here tomorrow instead?"

Emily shook her head, "No I'd like to go on the trip if that's ok."

"Of course it is." Naomi said with a disappointed tone.

She was startled when Emily moved on top of her and kissed her. Naomi gasped as Emily pushed her legs apart and moved her thigh into the space. The redhead slowly began to rub her thigh against Naomi and she smiled as the blonde moaned.

"However, I can think of something interesting to do right now." Emily stated.

Naomi tried to order her thoughts but it was proving difficult as all she could think about was how much she wanted Emily right now.

"Sleep's overrated" she finally managed to utter before allowing the redhead to dominate her mind and body completely.

* * *

They stood at the luggage carousel in Bristol airport on Sunday. Emily sighed, since the night they'd properly slept together they'd been inseparable. They'd visited the ruins and the redhead was surprised at how knowledgeable Naomi was about the history. She smiled as she remembered Naomi being offended when she suggested she was shallow, it was far from the truth, the blonde did indeed have hidden depths, most of which Emily had taken great pleasure in discovering.

The rest of the week had been spent sunbathing and relaxing, which was a thinly veiled euphemism for having sex, a lot. They couldn't keep their hands off each other. Sometimes they would be talking about the most seemingly innocent subjects when suddenly they would lock eyes and know they had to have each other then and there. Sometimes they were around the pool so they could rush back to one of their rooms. Other times they'd be at the beach where they knew they wouldn't make it as far as the hotel, so they didn't even try. Once they had been in a bar having a drink after having dinner when Emily gave Naomi 'the look', silently the blonde took her hand and led her outside to somewhere secluded and fucked her right there. With anyone else it would have been seedy but with Naomi it was the most passionate, sexy encounter she had ever experienced.

Emily was brought out of her thoughts by Naomi squeezing her hand, which she had refused to let go since they'd left for the airport in Cyprus. It was as if the lack of contact would break the spell completely and remind them that they were back to reality again.

"The luggage is starting to come up," Naomi said sadly.

Emily sighed, "So I guess this is it."

They had talked about the possibility of a long distance relationship but had both agreed it wouldn't work and they didn't want to ruin what they had or what they both felt.

Naomi saw Emily's case first and pointed it out. Emily looked puzzled, "How did you spot it before me?"

Naomi smiled, "It's imprinted on my foot remember?"

"Was that really only two weeks ago? It feels like a lifetime," Emily said sadly.

All too soon they both had their cases and they realised it was time to say goodbye.

"Thank you for the best two weeks of my life, I'll never forget them and I'll never forget you." Emily said with tears in her eyes.

Naomi nodded, "Good luck at Oxford and know that I'll think of you often and it will make me smile."

They hugged tightly, neither wanting to break the embrace, in the end they both stopped on the count of three.

They said goodbye and Naomi walked away. Suddenly Emily called out her name, she turned and walked back.

"Naomi, I...I...I..." Emily started but she was silenced by Naomi's finger on her lips.

The blonde stared into her eyes, "I know, me too. Goodbye Emily."

Emily stood with tears running down her cheeks, "Goodbye Naomi."


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Thank you so much for the reviews, as ever you guys are lovely. Everyone seemed to want me to carry on so who am I to disappoint?**

**Sorry this is a short chapter but I wanted to update quickly. This sets the scene for the rest of the story but later chapters will be longer and have more going on I promise.**

**I want to try to update there's always a choice this weekend if I can but hopefully it won't be too long before I update here either.**

* * *

Emily Fitch once again found herself staring at a building that she was about to call her temporary 'home'. The building was crumbling in places and some of the paint was peeling away from the window frames.

Like the hotel in Cyprus, her first thought _was what a shithole_. A pain shot across her chest, just like it had every time she thought about her holiday or rather when she thought about Naomi, which she'd done a lot since she came home. It was fair to say that she'd spent most of the summer thinking about the blonde, and her sense of loss was no less now than when they had parted at the airport.

_I wonder what she's doing right now_, Emily thought before forcing her mind elsewhere, it wasn't doing her any good to keep thinking about Naomi, the beautiful blonde she had stupidly let walk away from her.

She hadn't told anyone what really happened on her trip to Cyprus, not even Katie. She'd spent most of the summer moping around like a love sick puppy and the only consolation was that her family thought she was still upset about Melissa so they didn't pry.

_If only they knew the truth_, thought Emily with a sigh.

She was forced out of her daydream by a piercing voice, "Have you seen these fucking clothes? What a joke, how can anyone look sexy in this?"

Emily rolled her eyes, "Katie, everyone will be wearing the same uniform so I don't see what your problem is."

Her twin looked her up and down, "It's ok for you, you're supposed to look like a geek. Some of us have a reputation to uphold and I'm not going to let these fuckers get me on the back foot before I start."

"Please Katie, for once, can you try to be friendly? It's going to be hard enough fitting in as it is without you declaring out and out war on our first day." Emily replied.

Katie stared at her, "Emily, if you don't go in guns blazing, letting people know you don't take shit, then they'll think you're a pushover and spend the rest of the time walking all over you. Attack is the best form of defence."

Emily sighed, _this is all I need, Katie trying to show the world that you don't mess with a Fitch._ All she wanted to do was get along with people, maybe make a few friends and keep her head down.

Katie grabbed her arm, "Right Em, are you ready? Go girls."

She marched through the gates as if she owned the place. Emily exhaled and looked at the sign that read "Parkview School, Bristol" before hurrying along behind her.

* * *

Naomi Campbell was standing in an office being lectured.

"Naomi, this is a great responsibility and there is much resting on your shoulders." Harriet told her sternly.

Naomi kept her eyes focused forwards as she nodded, _blah, blah, blah_ _I wish the stupid cow would just shut up and let me get on with it_, she thought to herself, annoyed that she had been interrupted from her daydream.

This time it was her and Emily at the beach, they'd finished their lunch and the redhead was lying back on her towel with a smile on her face. Naomi was on her side next to Emily and she was lazily trailing her fingers up and down the redhead's body.

She's spend most of the summer constructing little fantasies like these, her and Emily by the pool or at the beach, the two of them swimming, Emily lying naked on the bed in the hotel room. Actually when she thought about it there were very few daydreams she had where the redhead was wearing much at all. It was an odd feeling to be thinking so much about another girl like this but the longing she felt hadn't gone away since she'd arrived back home, if anything it had got stronger.

She still cursed herself for walking away at the airport without any way of contacting Emily again. She knew that the setting in Cyprus had been perfect for a holiday romance but was pretty sure that the connection they had was more than that, that they could have had something special. Even if it had gone horribly wrong they should have at least tried.

She sighed, _she's probably miles away now meeting new people having the time of her life._ Naomi stopped her train of thought as a pang of jealousy shot through her body. She didn't want to think about Emily having the time of her life with anyone unless it was her.

She was brought back to the room by the unmistakable pause that followed a question that needed a response, "Sorry, could you repeat that?" She asked the woman.

"Naomi, you'll need to concentrate more if you are to do well this year. I asked you if you had everything ready for the meet and greet this afternoon?" Harriet asked.

Naomi nodded, "It's all in hand, I came in especially early to make sure it was done."

Harriet smiled, "Excellent, I knew you wouldn't let me down. They should all be in the room at about 1.30 so I want everyone there at 1 o'clock sharp.

"I've agreed to start rounding everyone up at 12.45 so we can get everything in place with plenty of time to spare." Naomi responded.

Harriet nodded, "Right I'd better let you get on."

Naomi turned and left the room rolling her eyes, _I told you it was ready ages ago, you daft bint._

She checked her watch, because of Harriet's little speech she was now behind schedule and would have to hurry if she was going to make up the time.

She sighed, _I really hope this isn't a sign of things to come._ The whole point of being in charge was that people left you to get on and do things, not interfered all the time.

_Ah well nothing for it I'm just going to have to crack the whip with my minions_, she thought with a smile, revelling in the power, after all wasn't that one of the perks of being Head Girl?

* * *

Emily stood awkwardly in the common room at lunchtime, they'd been given the grand tour that morning and she was pleased to see that the inside of the school wasn't as dilapidated as the outside. Her friend JJ had been thrilled when he'd been shown the computer room and she was just as excited when they'd visited the library. In truth it was a lot better equipped than their last school, which is probably why they decided to close the sixth form in the first place. Maybe it wouldn't be that bad.

She was interrupted from her musings by the shrill voice of her twin, "Actually Ibiza was brilliant, the sunsets were amazing and the guys were all fit as fuck." She looked over to where Katie was holding court in the centre of the room and sighed, _at least she's got her feet firmly under the table._

She jumped as a girl with frizzy blonde hair appeared in front of her, "Alright, are you havin' a whizzer time? I know it can be blinkin' scary when you're new, I'm Panda."

Emily smiled, "Hi, I'm Emily and the school seems ok so far."

Panda looked confused, "Hang on weren't you just over there?" She turned and pointed towards Katie, before looking back at Emily.

"They're twins Pandapops, there's two of them, identical in every way. Isn't that right?"

Emily turned to the brunette girl who had seemingly appeared from nowhere, "Actually in our case not really, we look alike but that's pretty much where the similarities stop. I'm Emily, the quiet twin."

The brunette studied her before saying, "Effy. So how else are you different then?"

Emily blushed slightly, "Katie is far more outgoing than me, she always has to be the centre of attention. I like books and studying, she reads Heat and goes out all the time."

Effy continued to stare at her before looking over to where Katie was holding court surrounded by drooling men.

She smiled an enigmatic half smile, "Katie has a new man every week and I'm guessing you don't."

Emily shrugged, "I believe more in relationships I suppose."

Effy smirked, "Nicely dodged, but I wasn't talking about the frequency, I was referring to the gender."

Emily began to blush, _God how could she have worked that out from looking at me for 10 seconds? _But everyone had to find out sooner or later so she cleared her throat, "Yeah well there is the whole I'm gay, Katie's a slut thing too."

She waited for the reaction and was surprised when there wasn't one. Panda was staring at a young black boy in the corner and Effy was scanning the room. Emily shrugged, _well I thought that would be far more awkward than it was._

"Oh he's a blinkin' dream," Panda said referring to the boy she'd been staring at, "I'm going to find out his name by the end of the day."

Effy sighed and walked over to him, they had a short conversation and she made her way back, "His name's Thomas. Don't say I never do anything for you Panda. How about you Emily, any of our fine ladies caught your eye? I'm straight by the way."

Emily smiled, "Sorry but you're not really my type."

Effy pretended to look hurt, "I'm wounded. So what is your type then?"

Emily paused as images of Naomi filled her head, "I'm more of a blue eyed blonde type of girl."

Effy raised her eyebrow, "Well you're definitely going to enjoy meeting our infamous Head Girl then."

Emily leaned in conspiratorially, "Actually I've heard some pretty awful stories about her, she sounds like a right tyrant."

"Oh no she's wakker, Eff has known her for like forever haven't you Eff?" Panda replied.

Effy shrugged, "Our Mum's were friends when we were little, we grew up together. She can be a total bitch, but if you can be bothered to get past that she's one of the best mates you'll ever have."

Their conversation was interrupted by Doug, the head of sixth form, "Emily, are you ready for your meet and greet with our student body now?"

Emily nodded and followed him over to one corner of the room. She hated meeting new people so she kept her eyes rooted firmly to the floor. She was introduced to some of the student reps and most of the time she shook their hand, barely glancing at them.

Doug tutted, "Where on earth has our Head Girl gone? Ah here she is."

Emily was about to go through her staring down, shake hands and quickly move on routine when she heard a gasp.

She slowly looked up and her mouth fell open as she was faced with the familiar blonde hair and blue eyes.

Their eyes locked and it felt to Emily like time was standing still. The rest of the room seemed to melt away until it was just the two of them.

_Jesus Christ,_ thought Emily, _this is the last thing I expected._


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Sorry this has taken ages to update but I wanted to finish there's always a choice. Anyhoo, here is the next chapter, which I am a bit unsure about in terms of what happens and how it ends. But as usual I'm going to see where the story takes me. The rest of the chapters will hopefully be better.**

**As ever, reading it is great but getting a review really makes my day.**

* * *

The world stopped as Emily gazed into the familiar blue eyes and saw them pass through surprise before they softened in recognition before settling on panic. Suddenly all the sound entered the room and Emily had to steady herself. She stared at Naomi whose eyes were pleading with her not to acknowledge they knew each other.

Doug's Welsh lilt shattered her consciousness. "Emily Fitch, I'd like to introduce you to our star pupil and Head Girl, Naomi Campbell. Naomi, Emily transferred here from Kingsmead which as you know has closed its sixth form."

Emily took the hand offered to her and smiled. _Naomi Campbell eh?_ _No wonder she was so evasive in Cyprus. _

Suddenly Emily felt bold, "It's very nice to meet you Naomi _Campbell_. That's an unusual name, it must have given you a fair amount of grief over the years."

Naomi stared at her before returning her smile, "Yeah, which is why I very rarely tell people my surname when I meet them. I like them to get to know me first, you know before the piss taking starts."

"So teasing is ok when you're friends with someone? I'll have to bear that in mind." Emily answered. _Fucking hell, I'm flirting with her, in public, in my new school, in front of everyone, _Emily thought.

Naomi looked at her with a difficult to read expression on her face, "You should, I can be quite fierce with people who step out of line. Of course, I'm totally different with the few people I choose to become friends with."

Emily looked away, _is Naomi trying to intimidate me?_ She turned back and looked at the blonde, she was still smiling and there was amusement in her eyes. _No_,_ she's flirting back,_ Emily thought as her heartbeat quickened.

"Is that a warning or an invitation?" Emily asked with a raised eyebrow.

Naomi bit her lip, "I haven't decided yet, I guess you'll just have to get to know me better and work it out for yourself."

Emily licked her lips, "I'll look forward to that."

They continued to stare at each other before they were interrupted by a cough from Doug, "Right girls, we've got quite a few more people to go yet so I'm going to have to hurry you along Emily."

The comment was enough to break the spell between them and Emily quickly let go of the blonde's hand, "Sorry I didn't mean to hog you like that." She mumbled apologetically looking at the floor.

As she walked away she heard Naomi call her name, she turned back to find the blonde still looking at her with a slight smile playing around her lips, "I hope you enjoy your time at Parkview, it looks like it might be an eventful year."

Emily began to blush as she smiled and nodded at the Head Girl. _Oh God, I hope so_, she thought as she walked away.

* * *

Naomi stared after the redhead's retreating figure, her head was a mess. She had thought almost obsessively about what it would be like to meet Emily again, but never in her wildest fantasies had it been on the first day of a new school term. She groaned inwardly as she thought back to their brief conversation_, I was flirting with her and practically drooling, _she thought. This was not good, she had a reputation for being a hard assed bitch, a reputation she had spent a long time cultivating. People couldn't see her turn to mush when faced with Emily's beautiful brown eyes, they'd all be at it then and how would she keep order and control? She looked around to see if anyone had noticed the exchange, she was glad to see most people were involved in their own conversations and weren't paying her any attention. She was about to sigh with relief when she caught Effy staring at her, the brunette had a smirk on her face and she winked before turning away.

_Bollocks, she knows_, Naomi thought, _but at least it's only Effy, she always knows everything. _

Naomi thought back to when she had returned from holiday.

_After she had left Emily at the airport she made her way outside and got a cab back to her Mum's house. She couldn't face being on a bus with lots of other people and thankfully the cab driver had picked up the fact that she wasn't in a chatty mood so stayed silent for the majority of the journey. She stared out of the window, blinking furiously as she felt tears well up in her eyes. She had made sure she hadn't cried in front of the redhead but it had nearly broken her heart when she saw the tears flowing down Emily's cheeks. Over and over again she questioned why they hadn't exchanged numbers or e-mail addresses, anything so they could keep in contact. At one point she had nearly told the driver to turn back, but she knew it was too late, Emily would be long gone now._

_She let herself into the house and was immediately met with a barrage of questions from her Mum. She loved Gina dearly but she could be overbearing at times and she really wasn't in the mood to tell anyone about her holiday or about the beautiful redhead she'd just left standing at the airport. Gina picked up on her reluctance and the questions petered out._

"_I'm sorry love, you must be tired, why don't you have a nice hot bath and I'll make you something to eat. You can tell me all about your holiday when you're ready." Her Mum had said with a smile._

_Naomi nodded and went upstairs to the bathroom, she ran the bath and when the temperature was cool enough she got in. She tried to clear her mind and relax but all she could think of was Emily, even when she closed her eyes all that appeared were red and brown patterns. Finally she gave in and let the tears that had been threatening fall freely down her cheeks._

_After she had dried off and got dressed she made her way back downstairs, there was a welcoming aroma coming from the kitchen and she could hear voices. She walked into the room and saw Effy sitting at the table chatting to her Mum. The brunette looked up as she walked into the room and snorted._

"_Fucking hell, remind me never to go on holiday with you. You're supposed to come back looking refreshed and radiant, you look like shit." Effy said studying her carefully._

"_Piss off Eff, I'm not in the mood." Naomi had replied taking the seat next to her._

_Gina tutted, "She's been equally as monosyllabic with me Effy love, maybe you can drag out of her what's wrong."_

_Naomi stared between them, "Who said anything was wrong? I'm just a bit knackered after the flight."_

_Gina placed two plates of food in front of the two girls, "I'll leave you alone to talk about whatever is bothering you. I imagine it's boy related and you don't want your old Mum hanging around embarrassing you."_

_Naomi found herself blushing as she thanked her Mum for the food. They ate in virtual silence before Effy said, "Come on then, what was his name and what did he do to upset you so much?"_

_Naomi shook her head, "It's not to do with a bloke and I don't want to talk about it."_

"_Oh come on Naoms, this is me you're talking to. Are you still upset about Cook?" Effy asked._

_Naomi shrugged, "Only a bit but I haven't thought about him much actually."_

_Effy continued to stare at her, "Ok, so it's not Cook, but I saw you blush when your Mum mentioned boy trouble. So who is he?"_

"_It's nothing to do with a fucking boy ok?" Naomi snapped at her friend._

"_Alright then, what's her name?" Effy said with a smile. She had meant it as a joke but the smile disappeared when she saw the look on the blonde's face. "Fucking hell Naomi, you're shitting me? You got it on with a girl?"_

_Naomi was defiant, "What's wrong with that? I mean you've shagged women."_

_Effy shrugged, "Yeah, but I'm a bit of a slapper, I'll try anything once, or a few more times if I like it. You on the other hand have always been straight as a die, Jesus you nearly knocked me out that time I kissed you after we'd downed that bottle of vodka."_

_Naomi slumped in her seat, "Yeah well it turns out I might have a gay side after all. Her name is Emily and I think she is the most amazing person I've ever met, male or female. I struggled a bit at first, you know because she was a girl, but honestly Eff, it felt so right and natural I couldn't fight it."_

"_So are you going to see her again?" Effy asked._

_Naomi shook her head and once more she could feel the tears pricking in her eyes, "We've got no way of contacting each other. Her parents live in Bristol but she's off to uni in the autumn. Honestly Eff, it seemed like the right thing to do at the time but I can't help thinking I've just made the biggest mistake of my life." _

She was forced out of her reminiscing by a loud cough, which made her look up. Doug is staring at her strangely.

"You looked miles away there Naomi, I want to introduce the next new student to you. This is Jonah Jones, Jonah this is Naomi Campbell." Doug says as he introduces them.

"Hello, I'm Jonah Jeremiah Jones, but everyone calls me JJ. Well not everyone, my Mum calls me Jonah, and Doug has just called me Jonah, but everyone else calls me JJ. I like JJ I think it's cooler than Jonah, not that I'm cool, I'm a bit of a geek, but I like computers so I wasn't ever going to be anything else." Finally he pauses for breath.

Naomi is staring at him with a slightly confused look on her face, _why is his name familiar?_ she thinks before she smiles at him. "You're JJ, Emily's friend right? The one who gets locked on?"

It is now JJ's turn to be confused, "But I thought you'd only just met Emily. Did she talk about me?"

_Shit, what an idiot of course we're only supposed to have just met, how could I have slipped up_, Naomi thinks before replying, "Yes, she did. She said you were probably one of her best friends at Kingsmead."

"Oh wow, that's just brilliant. Emily is such a wonderful girl." JJ replies with a big grin.

_Oh God, he clearly likes her and now I've made him think she was talking about him. Rapid subject change needed_, Naomi thinks trying hard not to feel jealous because someone else likes Emily too.

"So you like computers, what did you think of the IT room here?" Naomi asked in a clear attempt to steer the conversation away from the redhead.

JJ suddenly grew animated, "Oh wow, it's brilliant and much better than our last school. I can't believe there is all the multimedia equipment as well..."

The blonde sighed as JJ continued to prattle on about the different hardware and software available at the school. She didn't really understand a word he was saying but she was relieved she'd managed to cover up her slip.

_I'm going to have to be careful in future if I don't want the truth about how well I know Emily to get out,_ thought Naomi. She felt herself going slightly red as a wave of very dirty thoughts and images of the redhead naked popped into her brain, no it definitely wouldn't do if people found out exactly how intimately they knew each other.

* * *

Emily was watching Naomi and JJ's exchange with interest. JJ was clearly getting locked on at one point but Naomi seemed to bring him out of it by patiently waiting for him to finish. He then grew very animated not once but twice by what the blonde had said to him. Emily smiled to herself, she was very fond of JJ but knew lots of people thought he was weird but she was pleased Naomi had worked out who he was and was being nice to him. She was interrupted by a tap on the shoulder, she turned around to find her twin staring at her strangely.

"Just what the fuck was that all about?" Katie asked her with her arms folded.

Emily shrugged, "What are you talking about?"

Katie snorted "Don't play the innocent with me Emily, you know exactly what I mean. You and the blonde Head Girl, you were flirting with her and not very subtly."

Emily started to blush, "No I wasn't, I was just being friendly. It's what normal people do Katie, you should try it."

"Oh piss off, you were eye fucking her. I expected you to start twiddling with your hair and fluttering your eyelashes at one point." Katie replied.

"Katie, think what you want. I wasn't flirting, Jesus when do I have the confidence to flirt with someone as gorgeous as that?" Emily stated. As soon as the words left her mouth she inwardly groaned at her mistake.

Katie stared at her smugly, "Right so you admit you find her attractive, so now look me in the eye and tell me you weren't imagining what she'd look like naked."

_I don't need to imagine what she'd look like naked, I can remember very clearly what she looks like without any clothes on_, Emily thought with a smile.

"Alright Katie, you win. I think she's seriously fit." Emily replied.

"I'm sure you do." A voice behind them said and they both turned to see Effy standing there with a grin on her face.

"Who the fuck are you?" Katie asked with a sneer.

"I'm Effy and I already know you're Katie Fitch. You have quite a reputation, as many of the toilets in Bristol stand testament to." The brunette said with a smirk.

Emily tried very hard but she couldn't help the giggle escaping when she saw the surprised look on her twin's face. She watched as Katie turned to properly look at Effy.

"Listen bitch, you'd better watch what you're saying. You don't want to get on my wrong side, as I will unleash all sorts of hell into your life if you do." Katie spat.

Effy looked unconcerned, "Bring it on."

Katie's eyes narrowed and she pushed past the brunette as she stormed off, "Remember fucker, I'm watching you."

Once she was out of sight Emily burst out laughing, "Oh my God, I think you achieved something I've been trying to do most of my life, that's the first time I've ever seen Katie speechless."

Effy shrugged, "I can see why she's described as the evil twin, she's a bit of a cow isn't she?"

"She can be but deep down she's got a heart of gold." Emily answered.

Effy snorts, "It must be very deep down based on what I've seen and heard."

Emily frowned, "There's not really graffiti in the toilets across Bristol about her is there?" She knew her twin could be a bitch but she was still her sister and she'd hate to think people had written nasty things about her.

Effy shook her head, "No I made that up, but she doesn't know that."

Emily laughed again, "God, you two sound as evil as each other."

"So Emily, how did you enjoy your holiday in Cyprus this summer?" Effy asked with a smile.

The redhead spluttered before growing red, she quickly glanced at the blonde before she turned back to the brunette, "Er, how did you know I was in Cyprus?"

Effy studied her carefully, the look she'd seen Emily give Naomi before she answered her question had confirmed that her suspicions that the pair knew each other were right. It all slotted neatly into place but there was no point in embarrassing the redhead anymore than she had done. She might have been a bitch to her twin but Emily seemed nice.

"Just a lucky guess, it seemed to be the destination of choice this year." Effy replied.

Emily knew that Effy and Naomi were friends because Panda had told her but surely she couldn't just know. She thought back to the way the brunette had known instantly she was gay earlier and reassessed her opinion. _Fuck she knows,_ Emily thought, _how am I going to play this?_

Emily sighed before looking directly at her, "Actually I enjoyed my holiday immensely, it was the best two weeks of my life."

Effy raised her eyebrow, she hadn't expected the redhead to be so upfront, _well she's got balls, I'll give her that._ "Hmmm, Naomi went to Cyprus and came back raving about it as well, she's hardly shut up about the fantastic time she had."

Emily blushed, "Really?"

Effy nodded, "Yeah I've never seen her so animated. You should compare notes later, somewhere private, the library reading room is always a safe bet as it's hardly ever in use."

Emily smiled at the brunette, "I was planning to go there after school today to check it out."

"That sounds like an excellent time to take a look." Effy said scribbling something on a piece of paper.

Once she had finished the brunette walked over to Naomi and handed her the note while whispering something in her ear. Emily watched as Naomi read the message before looking around searching for something. Finally her eyes rested on the redhead and she gave a small smile and a barely perceptible nod. Emily's stomach flipped as she smiled back. She looked away and stared at her watch, this was going to be the longest hour of her life.

* * *

Naomi walked quickly down the corridor towards the library, she had been held up tidying the common room after the meet and greet and she was late. She didn't want Emily to think she wasn't coming and for the redhead to leave. She paused and hovered outside of the library door, she was nervous about seeing Emily again, what if it was awkward and they had nothing to say to each other? What if she had built up what had happened in Cyprus into something more than it was and it was just a fling to Emily? She sighed, only one way to find out.

She tentatively pushed the library door and entered the room. The place was practically deserted, after all it was the first day of term and no one was that much of a swot. She was pleased when she saw Mrs Biggins the very nosy librarian was nowhere to be seen, she could do without the invasive questions. She made her way over to the reading room and slowly turned the doorknob. She opened the door slightly and softly gasped as she saw the redhead pacing up and down constantly checking her watch. She entered the room quietly and made her way up to Emily.

The blonde reached out and placed her hands over Emily's eyes causing her to jump, "Guess who?"

Even though she was facing away from her she could feel Emily smile as she finally relaxed, "I'm not really sure, can I have another clue?"

"Well, I'm blonde, have blue eyes and a very nice almost all over tan from a trip I took to Cyprus this summer." Naomi replied.

"Hmmm, don't tell me I'm already getting special treatment from the Head Girl, I'm honoured." Emily answered teasingly.

Naomi let her hands fall and smiled as the redhead slowly turned around. They looked at each other for a few seconds before squealing and embracing in a tight hug.

"What the fuck are you doing here? I thought you were supposed to be in Oxford reading English?" Naomi asked.

Emily raised her eyebrow, "Er hello, last time I checked this was Bristol not London and this is definitely a school not Goldsmiths Uni. You were the one who said we had to be honest and I recall you were the one who lied first."

"I thought you were older, I didn't want you to think I was some unsophisticated school kid. I didn't realise you were only 16." Naomi said sheepishly.

Emily scoffed, "Once again, hello. You were 16 too, I know you're 17 now, but so will I be in a couple of days. It's only the stupid academic timing that means we're in different years, we're practically the same age."

"Ok, it's a fair point. So we both lied and tried to make ourselves seem cooler, we're as bad as each other, deal?" Naomi suggested.

Emily nodded, "Ok it's a deal, but I was honest about everything else."

Naomi smiled as she finally released the redhead, "Me too."

They sat side by side on the table, awkwardly swinging their legs. "So Head Girl eh? Is that the only way you could make sure your authority issues didn't surface?" Emily asked with a smile.

Naomi laughed, "Pretty much, do you remember everything I told you?"

"Absolutely, I've got a memory like an elephant so all of the embarrassing things you shared are stored away just waiting to be revealed." Emily replied.

Naomi looked directly at her, "Hey, I've got my own ammunition on you as well remember and I'm not afraid to use it if I have to."

Emily paused before she licked her lips, "I guess we'll just have to trust each other to keep our secrets safe then."

Naomi gulped before she changed the conversation topic, "So what A levels are you doing?"

"English, naturally, with History and French. How about you?" Emily responded.

Naomi smiled, "It won't be a big shock, given your elephant like memory, to find out I'm studying Politics. But it might surprise you that I'm also doing History and French."

"Really, that's great, maybe we can study together sometimes, you know practice our French..." The redhead said playfully.

Naomi stared at her, "It's so good to see you, I missed you over the rest of the summer, I thought about you a lot."

Emily nodded, "Me too, I really regretted not getting your number. I didn't want to get caught out lying about uni but it started to feel like a more and more stupid reason the longer I thought about it."

"I know, and it seems even sillier now we've found out we were both lying." Naomi stated as she reached over and placed her hand on top of the redhead's.

Emily looked down at their two hands and gently rubbed Naomi's with her thumb, "So what's the deal with Effy then? Is she psychic or is it a trick? She guessed straight away that I was gay and it didn't take her long to work out we knew each other."

Naomi laughed, "I think it's a mixture of both, she's incredibly intuitive which can feel a bit like her being psychic. Of course the fact that I hardly shut up about you over the summer probably helped her out too."

"I didn't tell anyone about my holiday fling, not even Katie." Emily replied.

Naomi narrowed her eyes and pulled her hand away, "I see, I suppose it wasn't worth talking about if it was just a meaningless fling."

"Naomi, that's not what I meant." Emily pleaded.

"Really because that's what it sounded like." The blonde said as she got up from the table.

Emily sighed, "Where are you going?"

"I've got to meet Effy and I'm going out with Cook later, he's very demanding and hates to be kept waiting." Naomi spat at the redhead.

Emily looked like she had been punched, "Oh so it's back on with Cook is it? So tell me Naomi did you wait until you got home or did you phone him to arrange a fuck from the airport? You've got some nerve getting annoyed because I called what we shared in Cyprus a fling when it clearly meant nothing to you."

"I didn't think I was ever going to see you again, what was I supposed to do? Sit around moping and daydreaming about what would happen if we met each other by accident?" Naomi shouted at Emily.

Emily stared at her before going to the door, she turned to the blonde with tears in her eyes, "Why not? That's what I spent the rest of the summer doing."

Naomi watched her leave before she kicked the table in frustration, "FUCK IT." She screamed at the room, how the hell had that gone so spectacularly wrong?

* * *

Emily walked quickly to her locker and picked up her things. She wanted to get out of school as fast as she could, to go home and cry her eyes out. She strode purposefully out of the main entrance and towards the gates. Her mind was racing with a million thoughts but even they couldn't detract from the dull ache in her chest that was threatening to take over her whole body.

_I should have known it was all one big experiment,_ she thought bitterly as she passed through the gates and out into the street beyond. That's why she had always been so strict with herself about not going for straight girls no matter how gorgeous they were, they always went back to cock in the end. She'd seen some of her friends get badly hurt when they fell for a straight girl, at first they loved the challenge of the chase and they'd be over the moon that they had managed to get the object of their affections to return their feelings. But eventually the novelty would wear off and they'd be left heartbroken as their 'girlfriend' would apologise and say she'd had a lot of fun but had decided she wasn't gay after all.

Emily thought back to Naomi's reaction when they'd first slept together in Cyprus, how ashamed and embarrassed she'd been. All the signs were there, she had just chosen to ignore them. She sighed, aware that she wasn't being very fair to the blonde, once they had talked and slept together properly Naomi didn't have any problem with being seen with her. She was happy to hold hands or kiss in public, she had told Emily that she wanted everyone to know the beautiful redhead was taken.

Emily shook herself, why did she always feel bad when she stood up to Naomi, it was obvious the blonde couldn't give a fuck about her feelings and what happened in Cyprus meant nothing to her. Except it wasn't obvious, up until the point Emily had referred to their romance, affair, whatever you wanted to call it, as a fling Naomi had been acting like she had missed Emily and wanted them to be together.

_Yeah, well she's clearly a great actress because apparently it's Cook who she wants to be with_, Emily thought. She wasn't really looking where she was going so she didn't notice the person come hurtling round the corner until it was too late. They collided and Emily landed in a heap on the floor before she heard a familiar laugh.

"Well, well Emily. I was hoping I'd run into you but not quite this literally." The girl said with a smirk as she helped the redhead up.

"Why would you want to run into me Melissa? Isn't what's her name enough for you anymore?" Emily said with a sigh.

Melissa frowned, "Look Em, I meant to apologise to you about all that. I tried calling you but Katie answered your phone and told me to fuck off and leave you alone."

Emily scowled, she didn't want to speak to her ex but she didn't want Katie making the decisions for her either. "Yeah, well Katie has always been protective of me, especially where lying, cheating bitches are concerned."

Melissa paused, "Emsie, I made a mistake. I should never have chosen Donna over you, she was all wrong for me and she never really cared about me the way you did."

Emily sneered at her, "Don't call me that, I told you only my family are allowed to call me that. What happened Melissa, did she cheat on you?"

Emily can see she has hit the nail on the head when she sees Melissa being to blush.

"It's not a nice feeling is it? Finding out you've been lied to and that someone else has been fucking your girlfriend when you thought you were the only one allowed to do that." Emily asks.

Melissa shook her head, "That's what made me realise how much I cared about you and how badly I'd treated you. I want you back Emily and I'll do anything to win you over."

Emily laughed, the irony of the situation wasn't lost on her. Two months ago she would have done anything to have Melissa standing in front of her telling her she wanted them to get back together. Now all she could think about was Naomi.

Melissa gave her an encouraging smile, totally misunderstanding the meaning of the laughter, "Does this mean we have a chance?"

Emily paused, "No Melissa, it doesn't, I've met someone else. You and I are finished."

"I'm not giving up Em, I will do what it takes to get you back. I'll see you at school tomorrow." Melissa stated.

"What do you mean, you'll see me at school? You didn't transfer to Parkview." Emily said with a confused look.

Melissa smiled, "Actually I did, I changed my choice over the summer. Let's see how long your resistance lasts when you have to see me every day."

Emily sighed, "It won't make a blind bit of difference."

Melissa blew her a kiss as she turned to leave, "We'll see Emsie, we'll see."

* * *

Naomi walked outside and went to find Effy finally admitting defeat. She had looked all over for the redhead since leaving the library but Emily had disappeared without a trace. It wasn't like she even had her phone number so she could call or text and apologise. She stopped, apologise for what? She wasn't the one who had dismissed what they shared in Cyprus as a 'fling', she wasn't the one who had reduced something special to a mistake.

She sighed and rubbed her temples, she knew she had overreacted but it had hurt her when Emily had said she'd kept their fling a secret, it was the one thing that had always scared her when she thought about the holiday - what if it had meant more to her than Emily. Her first thought was that the redhead was ashamed of her, that she had been fine as a fuck in the sun but Emily didn't want to be with her back in Bristol where she might have to introduce her to her family or something. But deep down she didn't really think that was true, she had seen the way Emily had looked at her once she had got over the surprise at seeing her again.

As expected she found Effy round the back of the school in the smoking area. She wearily walked towards her slumped against the wall when she got there.

"Give me one of those." She demanded.

Effy shrugged as she handed her a fag, "I thought you'd stopped."

"I have, I just need one right now." Naomi sighed.

She inhaled the smoke and drew it into her lungs before blowing out again.

"So I'm guessing things didn't go to plan with the redhead from Cyprus then?" Effy asked.

Naomi shook her head, "Not exactly. We were getting along fine, no better than that, until she decided to call what happened a 'fling' and mention she'd been too embarrassed to tell anyone about it."

Effy raised her eyebrow, "That's strange because she was fairly upfront with me earlier when she realised I'd worked out who she was."

Naomi shot her a dirty look, "Alright know it all, she might not exactly have said she'd been too embarrassed but she did call it a fling."

"And you made a meal of things and overreacted." Effy said.

Naomi sighed, "I was hurt, it wasn't a fling to me, it was special. I couldn't help lashing out."

Effy snorted, "Oh God, what did you do?"

Naomi shifted uncomfortably, "Nothing much."

Effy looked at her and waited patiently for the blonde to continue. Eventually the intensity of the brunette's stare got too much for Naomi.

"For fuck's sake, stop looking at me like that. I might have implied that I was back with Cook, ok?" Naomi said sheepishly.

"What the fuck did you do that for?" Effy exploded.

Naomi shrugged, "I've already told you I was hurt, I wanted her to feel some of the pain I was feeling."

Effy scoffed, "Oh way to go Naomi. All you've talked about since you got back from holiday is Emily. How she made you feel, how it felt different to anyone else you'd slept with, how much you regretted not keeping in contact with her. So what so you do on the day you meet her again? Get angry, throw your toys out of the pram and let her think you've been shagging Cook all summer. She might have mistakenly called it a fling, but right now I can guarantee she's feeling totally shit because she thinks you used her as some sort of holiday lesbian experiment before running straight back into the loving arms of your boyfriend."

Naomi is shocked, "Oh don't be so dramatic Eff, she knows it wasn't like that, Emily knows it meant much more to me than a stupid experiment."

Effy shakes her head, "Not at the moment she doesn't. Think about how you reacted at first, how upset and unsure Emily was when you kept pretending you were only interested in her when you were drunk. Even though you changed your behaviour don't you think Emily was always a bit scared you were lying, that it wasn't real?"

Naomi groaned loudly, "Oh fuck, what am I going to do?"

Effy shrugged, "I don't know, but one thing's for sure, she's not going to even talk to you if she thinks you're with Cook."

Naomi stares at her friend and knows she is right, she was stupid to make Emily think she'd forgotten about her so quickly. She can still picture the hurt look on the redhead's face when Naomi had said what she did about Cook, it was exactly the same as when she had pretended to be drunk before they had sex. Suddenly an idea comes to her, she knows what she is going to do.

Effy looked at her quizzically, "What are you smiling about?"

"It's Emily's birthday this week so I'm going to make her a present that shows her how much Cyprus meant to me and I'm going to write her a letter, telling her exactly how I feel about her." Naomi says triumphantly.

Effy linked her friend's arm as they began to walk home, "A love letter, how very old fashioned."

Naomi paused, "Hey, I think it's romantic. What?"

Effy shook her head, "I'm just annoyed with myself for not picking it up earlier. I'm usually far more perceptive than this."

"Picking up what?" Naomi asked.

"You are so gay." Effy said with a smirk.

Naomi thought of Emily and smiled, "I know."


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Hello there, sorry for not updating for a while but I was called away on a family emergency and didn't have access to a computer (I know, how weird in this day and age?) But anyway here's chapter 4 and it's quite long so hopefully that makes up for the delay a bit.**

**I've now sketched out the remaining ideas/chapters for this story and it's got quite a few twists and turns in it so might be a bit more angst ridden than I originally intended but don't worry there'll be plenty of fluffiness too.**

**I'm broadly happy with this chapter but not 100% sure about the ending. Thank you for reading, alerting but especially reviewing, getting feedback is always great and the reviews really do make me very happy and spur me on so the more the merrier. **

**Hope you enjoy the update.**

* * *

Naomi stared at the blank piece of paper in front of her.

"_Dear Emily,"_ she wrote and then scribbled it out before screwing the paper into a ball and wildly throwing it towards the waste bin. Like the many other bits of paper before this one, it missed totally and landed on the floor instead.

She sighed, this was going to be tougher than she thought, especially if she couldn't even get the first bit right.

"_My Dearest Emily."_ She tried this time before screwing the paper up again and repeating the toss towards the bin. _For fuck's sake, I'm supposed to be a 17 year old telling another 17 year old how I feel about them, not some Victorian spinster aunt talking about my invigorating travels around the spas of Europe, _she thought.

There was a knock at the door and Effy entered with a bottle of vodka. She took in the scene around her. Although it was evident from the mess in the room she asked the question anyway,

"How's it going? I thought you might want a bit of Dutch courage." She said gesturing towards the bottle.

"Well as you can see Eff, it's going brilliantly. I can't even get past the first line, let alone actually talk about my feelings." Naomi replied sarcastically.

Effy handed her the vodka and picked up a few random pieces of paper before laughing, "Jesus Naomi _'Dear Emily Fitch'_ really? That's the best you can do?"

"Shut the fuck up, I'm trying. That's not even the worst one, there's a '_Ms Fitch'_ piece of paper amongst all that." Naomi responded taking a swig of the alcohol.

Effy smiled at her, "I can see I'm here in the nick of time then. What about the present?"

Naomi motioned towards the smallish book perched on top of her chest of drawers, "That's finished, it was pretty easy, well very easy compared to this."

Effy picked the book up and flicked through it, each page contained a photo and a caption or narrative underneath it. Most of the photos referred to significant firsts or events Naomi and Emily had shared while on holiday. There was a picture of a bruised foot accompanied by the caption "Our first contact" that made Effy laugh.

She reached one photo and studied it for a while before showing it to Naomi, "What on earth is that?"

Naomi smiled, "It's a toasted sandwich, each morning who ever got to the pool first would buy two toasties while they were waiting for the other, they helped clear up the hangover."

Effy continued to flick through the rest of the pictures, smiling as she went. She got to one particular photo and stopped. "Really?"

The blonde looked at the scene, it was a muddy alley way behind a building that looked like a shed or garage. Naomi nodded, "Yep, best sex of my life. We were in a bar having a drink after we'd eaten. We were just chatting away when suddenly Em looked at me and her pupils were so dilated her eyes were practically black. So I took her outside and led her into the shadows and we fucked against the wall. Emily was like a wild animal and I don't think I've ever been so turned on in my life, hence the caption."

Effy raised her eyebrow, "It turns out the quiet Fitch twin isn't as sweet and innocent as she makes out after all."

Naomi grinned at her, "Believe me Eff, she can be sweet but there is definitely nothing innocent about Emily Fitch."

Effy closed the book, "Right that's enough smut, you need to focus on your warm, fuzzy feelings and get this letter written. I'd suggest you get it done before you drink too much vodka as I'm not sure a piece of paper covered in tear stains with the words, 'I love you, you're my best mate you are' is going to cut the mustard."

"Hey, as if I'd write that, give me some credit." Naomi protested.

Effy snorted, "Well that's what you always end up saying to me when you get trashed."

"Fuck off, now are you going to help or not? I'm not sure a letter that reads more like a job application form is going to work either." Naomi said with a frown.

Effy took a deep breath, "You need to write it as if you were talking to her, there's no point her reading it if it doesn't sound like you saying it and it needs to come from the heart. Tell her how you felt when you first saw her, when she smiled at you, when you saw her again in the common room and tell her how sorry you are that you fought and lied about Cook."

Naomi nodded, "Thanks, I think I know what I want to say now."

The blonde smoothed out the next piece of paper and took a deep breath.

"_Em,_

_This is not the easiest letter for me to write, as you soon discovered I am a bit of a basket case when it comes to understanding what I am thinking and feeling. But I need to tell you how I feel about what happened in Cyprus and more importantly how I feel about you..."_

Effy watched in silence as Naomi wrote furiously for several pages, the writer's block seemingly gone.

Finally the blonde looked up, "All my love or just love Naomi?"

Effy rolled her eyes, "Which one is closest to how you feel?"

Naomi smiled before finishing the letter, "Do you want to read it?"

Effy looked horrified, "Jesus Naomi, of course not, it's private between you and Emily."

Naomi nodded before placing the letter in an envelope and sealing it, "No going back now. Let's hope it works."

"If you've been honest, I can't see how it can fail." Effy replied with an encouraging smile.

* * *

Emily blinked herself awake, she knew something had stirred her from her slumber but couldn't work out what it was. Suddenly she knew, Katie was bouncing on her bed and prodding her.

"Wake up, wake up. It's our birthday." Katie said in an excited voice.

"Fuck off Katie, I was asleep. What time is it anyway?" Emily replied wearily.

Katie tutted, "It's morning, who cares what time it is. 'Happy Birthday to us, Happy Birthday to us, Happy Birthday Katie and Emily, Happy Birthday to us'. Where's my present?"

Emily sighed realising it was futile to try to sleep anymore, "How old are you exactly?"

Katie grinned, "I'm 17 and 5 minutes older than you."

Emily rolled her eyes, "is there ever going to be a time when those 5 minutes don't count? We're twins, identical twins, made from the same egg splitting, you're not older than me, I just couldn't be arsed to compete with you to be born first."

Katie pushed her, "Why are you trying to spoil things? You've been a right miserable bitch ever since we started at Parkview. I thought you might fit in a bit more there. You seemed to be doing ok on your first day but ever since you've been a moody cow."

Emily sighed, "Yeah well, having Melissa following me everywhere hasn't helped."

Katie scoffed, "The sooner she gets the message you couldn't give a fuck the better. Why did she transfer anyway?"

"Apparently she now realises I'm 'the one' and wants me back." Emily said with a frown.

Katie shook her head, "anyway that's enough about the stalker bitch, who have you invited to the pub tonight?"

Emily shrugged, "JJ, Effy, Panda and Panda's crush Tommo."

"For fuck's sake Em, mong boy, total bitch, away with the fairies and I suppose he's fit. What a bunch of losers." Katie said with a sneer as she counted them off on her fingers.

Emily got annoyed, "Fine Ms popular, who have you invited?"

Katie smiled, "pretty much all of the people worth knowing. Most of the football team, and the rugby team, all of their groupies and Freddie with his mate Cook."

Emily's heartbeat increased, she wanted to ask the question but without it seeming obvious, "Will Cook be bringing Naomi with him?"

"What Head Girl, control freak, stick up my arse, Naomi?" Katie replied.

Emily nodded, "Yeah, that Naomi, his girlfriend."

Katie snorted, "I suppose so but I don't really get why they're even together, she's such an uptight bitch."

Emily closed her eyes and breathed deeply, _try to stay calm and not arouse Katie's suspicion_ she thought before turning back to her twin.

"I think she's probably a lot more fun when you get to know her." Emily responded.

Katie laughed, "Yeah right, if you ever get to know her. From what I've heard she rarely makes any friends, Cook and Effy are about the only two real mates she has, everyone else is just an acquaintance. Jesus Em, she makes you look sociable."

Emily decided to change the subject, she reached down to her bedside table and brought out a present, "here you go, Happy Birthday sis."

Katie clapped her hands, "goody, I love gifts." She tore open the wrapping and opened the box inside, it was a chain and pendant with their birthstone in it. Wow Em, that's really nice. Here's yours."

Emily took the parcel, knowing it would be a book, Katie always got her a book. She tore the wrapping off and it revealed a copy of The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Attwood. "Thanks Katie, it's one of my set texts."

Katie nodded, "I know, how thoughtful am I?"

Emily smiled, "Thanks, it's really kind." She didn't have the heart to tell her twin that she'd already bought and read all of the set texts she'd need for this year.

Katie glanced at the clock, "Got to get ready for school, it takes time to look this hot."

Emily watched her twin bound off to the shower and she collapsed back onto her bed. Her mind was spinning. She hadn't really seen Naomi since they fought in the library, she had a strong suspicion the blonde was avoiding her. Occasionally she'd noticed her staring but as soon as she'd looked back Naomi had broken eye contact and disappeared somewhere. As much as she tried to deny it, Emily was hoping Naomi would be at the pub tonight, she hated the fact they were so distant. She knew Katie's opinion was one that was shared by many at Parkview, Naomi was cold, a control freak and a bit uptight. But she knew differently, the Naomi she'd met in Cyprus was warm, passionate and caring. Emily smiled as the memories that were always so close to the surface of her brain came flooding back.

_She's definitely not uptight in any way, shape or form either_ thought Emily as she allowed her mind to be filled with images of the blonde. She could feel her colour rising as the mental pictures became more explicit but her blush was accompanied by the stirrings of arousal between her legs. The redhead listened to make sure Katie was still in the bathroom , she could hear her twin singing at the top of her voice.

_She's going to be at least another quarter of an hour, that gives me plenty of time _Emily thought before she moved her hand slowly down her body, imagining it was Naomi touching her. She finally reached her destination and smiled as she closed her eyes. _It's time to give myself a special birthday present,_ she thought as her breathing became shallow and she totally immersed herself in memories of the blonde and Cyprus.

* * *

Effy looked around the common room and noticed Naomi pacing straight away. She walked up to her friend and tapped her on the shoulder.

"Everything ok?" she asked gently.

Naomi shook her head, "I'm nervous as hell Eff, what if she laughs at me or gets angry again?"

Effy smiled, "Look we've talked about this, you need to get her on her own and then give her the present and letter. That way no matter what her reaction is no one else will see it."

Naomi tutted, "I know that's the plan but she never seems to be on her own. She's always with Katie or being followed around by that stupid girl who looks like a fucking leprechaun."

"Yeah about that, her name's Melissa and she was at Kingsmead. She was supposed to transfer somewhere else but changed her mind over the summer." The brunette stopped as she saw a frown form on Naomi's face. "What's up?"

"I hate her even more now. She's Emily's ex, they went out for six months and all that time she was screwing someone else. But she is the reason Em was in Cyprus in the first place, so I suppose I have something to thank her for." Naomi said with a scowl.

Effy tried to hide her smile, it always amused her when Naomi got jealous. _Well one thing's for sure Melissa better have a thick skin as Naomi is going to make her life hell _Effy thought. She reached into her bag and removed a piece of paper before handing it to the blonde. "Here's the other thing you asked for."

Naomi took the paper and looked at the number scribbled on it, "Thanks Eff, at least now I can send Emily a text to see if she'll meet me. Where did you get it?"

Effy shrugged, "I asked Katie, that's how I know about Melissa although she didn't mention that she and Emily had history."

"Katie wasn't suspicious was she, I mean she didn't know it was for me?" Naomi enquired with a worried look.

"I didn't mention you at all, I said Emily had given me her number but I'd lost it so needed it again so I could get the final arrangements for the pub tonight. You are coming aren't you?" Effy said.

Naomi shrugged, "Technically I haven't been invited by either of them."

Effy gave a snort of laughter, "So what, Cook has and they both think you two are an item, I'm sure Emily is expecting you."

"Maybe, but it feels a bit weird gate crashing on the back of an invite issued to my ex-boyfriend who they think is my current boyfriend. Besides we don't know yet what Emily's reaction to the letter will be, I'm definitely not going if she laughs in my face." Naomi said matter of factly.

Effy nudged her friend, "Well you'd better send Emily a text and arrange to meet her so you can find out. I need to know if my wing woman is going to be there tonight otherwise I need to make contingency plans."

Naomi smiled nervously at the brunette before putting the number into her phone. She sighed and bit her lip, what was she going to say to Emily? The words and tone she used were important, they could be the difference between the redhead agreeing to meet her or not. She pondered her options carefully for a few minutes, ignoring the tapping foot of the increasingly impatient Effy to her side.

_Oh fuck it,_ she thought finally, _honesty has got to be the best policy._

* * *

Emily sighed as she finally came to a rest. She had been avoiding Melissa all morning but the dark haired girl had continued to look for her and Emily was running out of places to hide. She knew there would be some sort of attempt from Melissa to use her birthday as an excuse to persuade her they needed to be together. Emily laughed bitterly again at the sheer irony of the situation, she didn't want Melissa, all she wanted was to speak to Naomi. She was brought out of her thoughts by the sound of her phone beeping. She looked at the display and was surprised when a number but no name came up. Her initial thought was that somehow Melissa had managed to get her new number from Katie but she dismissed that, Katie could be a cow at times but she hated Melissa and wouldn't want to encourage her. She nearly didn't open the message, she hated getting anonymous texts or calls, but something made her look. She gasped in surprise as she read the words and realised who it was from.

"_Hi Emily. It's Naomi. Effy got your number from Katie, I hope you don't mind. I feel really bad about us fighting the other day, I've been trying to apologise but you never seem to be alone. Would you meet me in the reading room at 3? The library should be quiet and maybe we can talk then? Oh and I have a present for you, Happy Birthday by the way. N x"_

Emily checked her watch, it was only 12.30. She sighed, Naomi had remembered her birthday and bought her a present. She wanted to see the blonde but was still undecided if she should just go running when Naomi clicked her fingers.

Emily shook her head, "Yeah right, like I'm not going to say yes." She quietly muttered to herself. As soon as she had seen who the text was from her heart had begun to race; there was only going to be one answer to Naomi's request, no matter how much the redhead tried to fool herself she hadn't made up her mind. She pressed the reply button and kept the message short and direct.

"_Naomi, yes I shall meet you at 3 in the library, I'd like us to talk too. Emily."_

She knew it sounded cold and a bit pompous but she didn't care. Naomi had asked her to meet up and she'd agreed. It wouldn't do any harm to make the blonde think she was detached about it. Only Emily had to know how nervous she felt and that there were a million butterflies fluttering around in her stomach right now. Her phone beeped again making her jump.

"_That's great, thanks for agreeing. I'll see you this afternoon and I'll try not to be late this time. N x"_

Emily smiled as she read the reply. How the hell was she going to last until 3 and more importantly how was she going to sneak off without Melissa following her? Suddenly she had an idea, Effy would know what to do. She nodded her head and went off in search of the brunette who would help solve her little dilemma for her.

* * *

Naomi checked her watch for the millionth time before sighing again. She had promised Emily she wouldn't be late but she hadn't expected the redhead to keep her waiting.

_Maybe she's not coming_, she thought as a worried look appeared on her face, _maybe it was a joke and Emily had never intended to meet her at all._

She shook herself, the redhead wasn't like that, she wouldn't be so cruel. She checked the time again, "Will you stop looking at your fucking watch, the time is five seconds later than the last time you checked. It won't make her appear any quicker." She scolded herself.

She looked at the gift wrapped present on the table, it had seemed like a good idea at the time but now she was nervous. What if Emily didn't like it or worse thought she was an idiot for doing it? Naomi sighed and reached into her bag to check the letter was still there. She was far more nervous about that, she had basically poured her heart out onto the pages, what if Emily was coming to talk about the fact that they should remember Cyprus for it for what it was – a holiday fling. She flinched as a pain shot across her chest when she thought of the redhead uttering those words.

She was brought out of her thoughts by the sound of the door opening and the redhead dashed in before quickly closing it behind her. Emily was out of breath and she put her finger to her lips ordering the blonde to be quiet. After about half a minute she finally spoke, "Phew, I think I managed to lose her."

"Lose who?" Naomi asked with a frown.

Emily rolled her eyes, "Melissa, she's been following me around all week doing her best puppy dog impression trying to persuade me we need to get back together."

Naomi's eyes narrowed as the stab of jealousy coursed through her, maybe it was already too late. But if that was the case why was Emily hiding from her and why had she agreed to meet Naomi.

"So you don't want to? Get back with her I mean?" Naomi asked tentatively.

Emily snorted, "No fucking way. She cheated on me and now because this Donna has done the same to her she's suddenly decided she was mean to me. I'm not that desperate, I mean who goes back to someone who has cheated on them, it's pathetic."

Emily stopped abruptly, realising that she has just described the blonde as desperate, "I mean most of the time it's wrong but I didn't mean to say you were pathetic. It's different with Cook..."

Naomi sighed, "It's ok, you're right it is pretty dumb behaviour. I wanted to talk to you about that actually but we can do that later." She picked up the present and handed it to the redhead, "But first 'Happy Birthday Emily', I hope you like it."

Emily smiled shyly at her, "Thanks, I'm sure it will be lovely. I'm impressed you even remembered."

Naomi shrugged, "I remember lots of things about you."

The redhead turned the present around in her hands a few times, "Are you coming to the pub tonight?"

Again Naomi shrugged, "I wasn't sure I'd be welcome, I mean I haven't actually been invited by you or Katie."

"Well consider this an official invite, I'd like it if you were there." Emily replied.

"Ok, then I'd love to come. Are you sure Katie won't mind? I don't think she likes me that much." Naomi responded.

Emily snorted, "Katie doesn't like strong females, she always wants to be top dog. Jesus, why do you think I'm so reserved and quiet?"

"You're not always reserved, or in fact quiet." Naomi said with a smirk.

Emily studied the present in her hands, trying desperately not to blush too much, "So what is it then?"

Naomi laughed, "You can find that out if you open it. It's not a new concept with presents, it's quite tried and tested, I am assuming you've celebrated your birthday before?"

Emily tutted as she sat down next to the blonde, she looked up and smiled, "I really wasn't expecting anything, it's very thoughtful of you."

Naomi watched as Emily carefully opened one of the ends of the present and had to stop herself reaching out and tearing the paper off. The redhead sensed Naomi's impatience and this knowledge made her go even more slowly.

"Oh for fuck's sake Em, open the damn thing." Naomi said getting annoyed.

Emily looked at the blonde, "It's funny, I seem to remember you liked to be teased when we were in Cyprus."

It was now Naomi's turn to blush, "Not all the time, sometimes I like instant gratification."

Emily smiled as she slid the book out of the paper, "I have fond memories of that too."

Naomi coughed, she didn't want to look directly at the redhead in case her eyes gave away the nature of the thoughts she was currently having, "So open it properly then, see what's inside."

Emily stared at the book in front of her, she had no idea what it was but it was obviously something Naomi had made for her. The simple fact that the blonde had taken the time and effort to make her a present meant Emily knew she was going to love it. Slowly she opened the front cover and read the message inside.

"_This is to remind you of the great time we had in Cyprus and to let you know how special it was to me. N x"_

The redhead turned to Naomi with a puzzled look, "I still don't get what it is."

Naomi rolled her eyes, "Jesus Emily, open it and you'll find out."

Emily did as she was told and opened the book at the first entry, she began to laugh as she saw the picture of the foot and read the caption. She continued to leaf through the book pausing at various pages to laugh, sigh or in some cases gasp until she got to the end.

When she looked up at Naomi her eyes were shining. "Thank you so much, no one has ever made me anything for my birthday before. It's beautiful."

Naomi smiled shyly, "So are you."

Suddenly the atmosphere in the room changed, the air became charged as they both realised how close they were sitting to each other. Emily reached over and stroked the blonde's cheek, "It was special to me too."

Naomi closed her eyes slightly as she enjoyed the feel of the redhead's touch on her skin, she felt Emily move her hand and the redhead's thumb gently traced a line across her lips. She gently kissed Emily's hand and when she opened her eyes again Emily was staring at her intensely. The redhead moved her thumb and they both leaned towards each other, never breaking eye contact.

Suddenly they were interrupted as Melissa burst into the room, "There you are Em, I've been looking all over for you trying to give you your present."

They sprang apart as if they had been hit by a bolt of lightning. Emily quickly put the book in her bag and was relieved when the dark haired girl seemed to be distracted enough not to have noticed.

Naomi coughed, "Right, I'm glad your first week here seems to be going well, but as I said if you need anything just let me know. I should be going."

Emily watched as the blonde picked up her bag and walked out of the room. She followed her out to the main library, "Naomi, there's no need to leave."

Naomi turned to her, "It's fine, I'll see you at the pub later. Happy Birthday again by the way."

Emily watched her go before turning round to her ex-girlfriend, "Didn't it ever occur to you that maybe you couldn't find me because I didn't want you to?"

Melissa smiled, "Come on Ems, don't be like that. You know we're going to end up together. Why do you keep fighting it?"

Emily grew exasperated, "Melissa, we're not getting back together. Why did you have to barge in like that, you could see I was in the middle of something."

Melissa laughed, "You were having some lame talk with the boring, stuck up Head Girl about how you're settling in, I figured you'd want to be interrupted, especially to get a present."

Emily sighed resigning herself to the fact that her moment with Naomi was gone and that the best way to get her ex off her back was to get the stupid present.

"Fine, what is this fantastic gift then?" Emily asked.

Melissa smiled and winked at her, "I knew you wouldn't be able to resist, come here and I'll give it to you."

* * *

Meanwhile out in the corridor Naomi was leaning against the wall, trying to gather her thoughts.

_We nearly kissed then, she said Cyprus was special to her too and then we were about to kiss_, the blonde thought before getting annoyed, _yeah until that stupid pixie burst in and interrupted._

Naomi groaned, she'd told Emily she was beautiful. _Well I wanted to be honest so why not tell her she's beautiful, it's the truth._

Naomi looked down at her bag and saw the letter poking out of the top. Shit, she hadn't given it to Emily. Ok so she'd delivered the present which partly showed the redhead how she felt but the real purpose of the meeting was to give her the letter which would leave Emily in no doubt how she felt about her. The blonde sighed, maybe she'd get a chance later at the pub.

She began to walk away until she shook herself. _I'm the fucking Head Girl, I own this school. What right does she have to burst in to a room where I am talking to her ex-girlfriend and almost force me to leave? Cheeky bitch, Em told me she wasn't interested in getting back together with her. She should respect that and piss off. She had her chance and she blew it._

Naomi sighed, she didn't think she'd read the signs wrong, she was pretty sure Emily would have kissed her back if she'd instigated it. She had arranged the meeting to give the redhead her letter and she was buggered if Melissa was going to spoil that. She quickly turned around and made her way back to the library.

_Let's see how she likes detention for a week_, she thought with a smile thinking of as many spurious reasons she could use to punish the dark haired girl as possible.

She reached the library door and pushed it open, she went to move into the room and looked up to see if Emily was still there. The sight she was greeted with caused her to stop dead in her tracks. Melissa and Emily were in the main library, against one of the book shelves. The dark haired girl had her hands resting on Emily's shoulders and they were kissing, not a friendly peck type of kiss either, this was a full on I want to fuck you type of kiss. Naomi's hand went to her mouth as she gasped at the scene. She backed out of the library and walked down the corridor to the girl's toilet.

Once she was inside she splashed her face with cold water, her hands were shaking and she slowly looked up at her reflection. _How could I have been so stupid and read things so wrong?_ she thought sadly as she stared at herself in the mirror. She reached into her bag and pulled out the letter.

"Well I don't need this now do I?" she said to the room as she slowly tore the letter into tiny pieces and flushed it down the toilet.

* * *

Emily made her way home after school, she had tried to find Naomi once she'd managed to get rid of Melissa but the blonde had disappeared without a trace. It didn't matter, she'd see her at the pub later and the thought made her smile.

She was startled as an arm linked through hers, she initially thought it was Naomi so she couldn't hide her disappointment when she turned to face Effy, "Oh hi, I thought you were someone else."

The brunette laughed, "Wow, thanks very much Emily. That is possibly the worst greeting I've ever received."

Emily smiled, "Sorry, I didn't mean to be rude."

Effy raised her eyebrow, "Hoping it would be someone a bit more blonde than me eh?"

Emily nodded, "We met up in the library earlier but were interrupted by fucking Melissa."

"Yeah, sorry about that. I honestly only took my eyes off her for a second but it was enough for her to escape." Effy apologised. "So did you get your present before the evil pixie descended?"

Emily burst out laughing, "That's a very apt description, did you come up with it?"

Effy shook her head, "No, you have Naomi to thank for that. She's actually quite witty when she's jealous."

"Naomi's jealous of Melissa?" Emily asked tentatively.

Effy snorted, "Green with envy, can't stand the thought of her with you."

Emily tutted, "It's a good job she didn't stay in the library this afternoon then. Can you believe Melissa had the audacity to kiss me in public and pretend it was a birthday present?"

Effy rolled her eyes, "Is she really that dense? So what happened?"

Emily shrugged, "It took me by surprise at first but as soon as I realised what she was doing I pushed her away. The fact that all I could think about was Naomi didn't help either, I think we were about to kiss before Melissa burst in. I was livid."

"Ah well, hopefully she'll get the message this time. Anyway you didn't answer me, did you like your present?" Effy asked again.

Emily nodded, her eyes bright, "It's amazing, both the present itself and the fact that Naomi went to all that trouble in the first place."

Effy laughed, "God if you think she put a lot of effort into the present you should have seen her when she was trying to write the letter, it was agonising to watch."

Emily stopped, "What letter?"

Effy stared at her, "Didn't Naomi give you a letter as well as your present?"

Emily shook her head, "I sort of got the feeling there was something else she wanted to say but Melissa burst in and ruined everything. What did the letter say?"

Effy shrugged, "I don't know, I've obviously got my wires crossed somewhere. Just forget I said anything. Well this is me, so I'll see you at the pub later."

Emily nodded as she carried on her journey, "Great, we'll be there from 8 o'clock onwards."

Effy watched the redhead disappear from view. _Right I need to get ready fast and go over to Naomi's to find out what went wrong._

* * *

Gina opened the door with a smile, "Hello Effy love, you look nice, are you going somewhere?"

Effy nodded as she entered the house, "Thanks Mrs C. Yeah we're off to the pub to celebrate someone's birthday. Actually it's two people's birthday, they're twins. Didn't Naomi tell you?"

Gina snorted, "Naomi doesn't tell me anything these days. In any case are you sure she's going because she stormed straight up to her room when she got in from school. She's been in a foul mood this past week, all I get are grunts."

Effy smiled, "She'll tell you what's going on when she's ready. I'll go and rouse her."

The brunette walked upstairs and knocked on Naomi's door before entering. The blonde was lying on her bed facing away from the door and she was still in her school uniform.

"I told you to leave me alone Mum, I've had a shit day and no, I don't want to talk about it." Naomi said.

Effy sat on the bed, "Good job I'm not Gina then. Come on you need to get ready if we're going to get to the pub for 8."

"I'm not going." Naomi replied sulkily.

Effy turned her best friend towards her, she could tell Naomi had been crying. "Yes. You. Are."

Naomi scowled, "Am not."

Effy sighed, "For fuck's sake Naoms, how old are you? What's wrong? I thought you'd jump at the chance to spend some time with Emily, she loved her present by the way."

Naomi frowned, "Yeah? She loved it so much that it sent her running straight back into the arms of her ex-girlfriend."

"No it didn't, Emily thinks Melissa is a bunny boiler." Effy said simply.

Naomi shook her head, "Really? She didn't seem to think that when she had her tongue shoved down her throat in the library."

Effy paused, suddenly understanding why the blonde was upset, "You saw Melissa kissing Emily, that's why you didn't give her the letter?"

Naomi sat up, "It's a bloody good job I didn't, they'd probably both be having a good laugh about it if I had."

"No they wouldn't. Emily isn't back with Melissa, it's you she wants." Effy said gently.

Naomi snorted, "I know what I saw Eff, Emily certainly wasn't complaining."

Effy changed tactics slightly, "Ok so you saw them kissing, but what was Emily doing?"

Naomi gave her an anguished look, "Effy, I really don't want to keep picturing it ok?"

Effy sighed, "Please just once more, really think about the way Emily was standing and what she was doing."

Naomi paused, she recalled the mental image from the library. Melissa was touching the redhead and leaning in towards her, the memory caused Naomi's fists to curl into tight balls. She sighed and tried to remember what Emily had been doing. Her brow furrowed, now she thought about it both of Emily's arms were by her side, in fact the whole of Emily's body was backing into the bookcase. She didn't really look like someone who was enjoying being kissed.

Effy sensed Naomi's subtle mood change, "Now think about how Emily acted when you nearly kissed in the reading room."

Naomi looked startled, "How do you know about that?"

"Emily told me, so how did she behave?" Effy prompted.

Again the blonde recalled the memory. Her breathing slowed as she remembered the redhead stroking her cheek and running her thumb across her lips. Emily's mouth had been slightly open and she'd maintained eye contact as she moved towards Naomi. They were definitely about to kiss and Emily wanted it to happen as much as she did.

Effy smiled, "So are we going to the pub?"

Naomi nodded, "I suppose so."

"Good, honestly you are as bad as each other. Now you'll be able to give her the letter tonight." Effy said shoving the blonde.

Naomi looked sheepish, "I tore it up and flushed it down the loo."

Effy sighed, "For God's sake Naomi, when are you going to stop being so fucking stroppy?"

"What? I was upset because I thought she wanted to be with Melissa." Naomi replied, "now are you going to help me pick out something to wear?"

_When is she going to grow up?_ Effy thought for the millionth time as she walked over to Naomi's wardrobe and started to rifle through her clothes.

* * *

Later that night Naomi and Effy walked into the pub, it was already pretty busy and the DJ had started his first set. In the end the blonde had settled on her favourite pair of jeans and a tight t-shirt finished off with a battered pair of converse. Unbeknown to Effy it was the same outfit she's been wearing the first night she and Emily had properly slept together in Cyprus. She didn't expect the redhead to remember but she knew she looked good.

Effy went to the bar to get them both a drink. Naomi's eyes scanned the room searching for Emily and she grimaced as she saw what the redhead was wearing. She had on a short, tight black skirt and a leopard print top with a pair of tarty looking heels.

Suddenly a husky voice interrupted her thoughts. "Another fine demonstration of the main differences between so called identical twins."

She turned to see Emily standing beside her, she was wearing a pair of skinny jeans and a check shirt which Naomi recognised as the one the redhead had been wearing on the same night in Cyprus. She blushed slightly as she remembered slowly removing it from Emily's body and kissing the skin underneath.

Emily laughed, "You look relieved that's Katie and not me."

Naomi smiled, "Sorry was it that obvious?"

The redhead nodded, "I see we both went for far more meaningful outfits instead, yours still looks as good on you as it did that night in Cyprus."

Naomi smiled again, "I wasn't sure you'd remember, given how much of the night it spend on the floor."

Emily coughed and looked back at her twin, "Her attire is not far off the outfit Katie wanted me to wear, she's into this whole 'identical twins, identical clothes' thing, but I put my foot down. She only does it so people can compare us and decide she's better looking."

Naomi stared at her, "I'm not sure that's the conclusion I'd reach."

Emily was relieved when Effy came back carrying two glasses, "Hey Emily how are you enjoying the party so far? I see Katie is already making her presence known."

They looked over to the other side of the pub where Katie had started to dance with the captain of the football team, she was whispering something into his ear while grinding her body against him.

Emily sighed, she really hoped Katie was going to behave tonight. Suddenly she heard Naomi squeal as she was picked up and twirled in the air.

"Naomikins, looking hot tonight babe." Cook said kissing her on the lips.

Emily felt herself bristle at the display of affection, she obviously knew who Cook was but she'd never really spoken to him.

Naomi pushed him away, "Fuck off Cook, I always look hot."

Cook grinned at her before looking at Emily, "I've seen you around red but I don't think we've been formally introduced. I'm Cook, Parkview legend and I'm guessing from the shirt you're the lezza twin."

Emily scowled at him, "No shit Sherlock. I suppose the fact that the 'slapper twin' is practically fucking a guy on the dance floor might have also given you a clue."

Cook burst out laughing, "I suppose that could have been a giveaway too."

Naomi rolled her eyes, "Cook meet Emily, who describes herself as the quiet twin but we prefer to think of her as the nice one."

Cook leaned in towards Emily, "Anytime you want a threesome I'm your man, girl on girl action is definitely something I'm into."

Effy watched as both Emily and Naomi shifted uncomfortably, "Oh look isn't that Freds calling you over?"

Cook looked to where she was pointing, "The Cookie monster is in demand tonight, let's go fuckin' mental."

"Sorry about him, he's a bit of an acquired taste." Naomi said apologetically to Emily after Cook left.

"Well at least now I can see the attraction," Emily responded sarcastically, barely hiding her jealousy.

Naomi shrugged, "Like I said he's ok once you get to know him."

Emily sneered at her, "Well maybe I should take him up on his offer. Let's face it I've already fucked his girlfriend plenty of times, why not let him watch and join in?"

"Em, don't..." Naomi started but Emily had already turned and walked off.

Naomi went to follow her but Effy placed a restraining hand on her arm, "Let her go, she's bound to be upset. You should tell her the truth."

Naomi shook her head, "Why should I? She's the one who keeps getting annoyed with me. I don't owe her any explanations."

Effy sighed, she was right earlier they were both as stubborn as each other. "Let's go and get another drink" she said wearily, it was going to be a long night.

* * *

Naomi stood at the bar nursing her vodka, she glanced over to the other side of the pub and snorted.

"What now?" Effy asked exasperatedly.

"She's just touched her arm again." Naomi said glaring.

Effy turned around to look, "Naomi, I've already told you it's all Melissa, Emily isn't interested."

"So why is she all over her like a rash then?" Naomi asked.

Effy sighed, they had been having the same conversation for the last hour. Naomi had been staring over to where the redhead was sitting with her ex and providing a running commentary on every little touch or gesture that had taken place between the two. Effy thought Emily was doing it to make Naomi jealous, but kept that thought to herself as the blonde was already on the verge of exploding.

"You know what I'm sick of this, I don't go out on a Friday night to babysit you. I was hoping to pull tonight but you've been worse than useless." Effy said with a frown.

Naomi scoffed, "Oh I'm sorry if I'm cramping your style, I thought you were my friend, you're supposed to be helping."

Effy grabbed her by the arm, "Right if it's help you want, then it's help you're going to get."

Naomi tried to pull away, "What the fuck are you doing?"

Effy rolled her eyes, "We're going to join them."

"No fucking way Eff, I'm not going over there." Naomi protested, but the brunette had already dragged her to the table.

"Hi do you mind if we join you for a bit?" Effy asked with a smile.

Melissa smiled sweetly, "Actually this is a private conversation."

Despite her reluctance to go over the dark haired girl's comment irritated Naomi and made her determined to sit down, "Oh I'm sure Emily won't mind, after all you have been monopolising her for a while now and she is the birthday girl."

They sat down and the blonde stuck out her hand, "I don't think we've met properly, I'm Naomi and this is Effy."

Melissa took the hand, "I know who you both are, I'm Melissa, Emily's girlfriend."

Emily sighed, "Ex-girlfriend, get the tense right Melissa."

"Ok ex-girlfriend... for now" Melissa said with a wink.

Naomi smiled and looked pointedly at the redhead "So you're hoping to get back together?"

Melissa nodded as Emily shook her head.

"Ah we seem to have a difference of opinion here, so which one is it?" Naomi asked.

Melissa narrowed her eyes, "Sorry, but what has any of this got to do with you? I mean I know you're Head Girl but you seem to be taking quite a lot of interest in Emily's business, what with your cosy chats in the library and stream of questions in the pub."

Naomi shrugged, "Like you say I'm Head Girl, part of my role is to take an interest in the pupils at Parkview, especially those that are new."

Melissa eyed her suspiciously, "Well how come you haven't spoken to me since I've arrived then?"

"Why don't I go and get us all a drink?" Emily ventured in an attempt to change the topic of conversation.

"Don't worry, I'll go. Melissa what can I get you?" the blonde asked.

Melissa shrugged, "Whisky and coke please."

Naomi got up and went to the bar.

The dark haired girl watched her, "How fucking rude is she? She didn't even ask what you wanted Ems."

The blonde returned carrying five glasses, "Here we go. One whisky and coke for Melissa, a JD for Effy, vodka for me and a vodka and coke for Emily, followed by a glass of water."

Melissa looked puzzled. Luckily Effy stepped in, "I bought a round earlier, Naomi must have remembered what Emily was drinking from then right Naoms?"

_Shit, shit, shit_ Naomi thought_, I didn't ask Emily what she wanted, I just bought it automatically. Thank fuck Effy's on the ball. _"Er, yeah that must be it. I have a very good memory for things like that."

They sat awkwardly sipping their drinks until Melissa broke the silence, "So what were you discussing in the library this afternoon?"

"I'm not really sure what business of yours that is, now who's prying? " Naomi said with an innocent smile.

"Actually if you must know Melissa we were talking about studying together as we're both taking History and French." Emily answered with a sigh.

"Even more cosy than I thought" Melissa replied cattily.

Naomi and Melissa continued to snipe at each other and trade insults, neither one of them missing the opportunity to put the other down, all the time smiling falsely at each other. Effy tried to diffuse the situation as much as possible but in the end even she ran out of patience and rolled her eyes at Emily.

Emily groaned inwardly, this was all she needed Naomi squaring up to Melissa, she'd never get her ex off her back if she thought there was competition for her attention. "Naomi can I have a word with you in private please?"

"Of course," the blonde said smiling at Melissa, "excuse us for a minute."

Naomi followed Emily into the ladies toilet. The redhead checked there was no one else in the bathroom before turning angrily to the blonde, "Just what the fuck do you think you're playing at?"

Naomi held her hands up, "What do you mean? I'm not playing at anything."

"Oh don't come the innocent with me Naomi, I've seen you like this before, remember Abi?" Emily spat at her.

"You've been trying to get away from her all week, I thought you'd appreciate the interruption." Naomi responded.

Emily raised her eyebrow, "I'm not stupid, I could see you glaring at us from the bar. Why don't you admit you're jealous?"

Naomi spluttered, "Why would I do that, I'm not jealous, I'm trying to help."

"Yeah right, how very selfless of you. If you want to help, you can let me make my own decisions about who I spend time with." Emily stated.

Naomi snorted, "I knew it, you want to get back together with her don't you?"

Emily raised her eyes towards the ceiling, "So what if I do? It's got nothing to do with you."

"Obviously not, do whatever you want, it's your funeral. I knew you wanted her back, that's why I tore up the letter..." Naomi stopped abruptly.

Emily sighed, "What's the big deal with this letter? Effy mentioned it earlier."

Naomi blushed, "It doesn't matter, it wasn't important."

Emily stared at her, "Well it obviously was otherwise people wouldn't keep banging on about it."

Naomi grew angry, "I wrote you a fucking letter to tell you how I feel about you but then I saw you kissing the poison dwarf in the library so I didn't see any point in giving it to you."

Emily looked shocked, "You saw us in the library?"

Naomi snorted, "Yeah, I came back to give you the letter and there you were bold as brass practically fucking against the bookcase."

"We were not 'practically fucking.' She kissed me, I pushed her away as soon as the shock wore off." Emily insisted.

Naomi shrugged, "Yeah, well you didn't seem to mind from where I was standing. Actually it made me glad Melissa interrupted us and stopped me making a fool of myself by kissing you."

"I wanted you to kiss me, I wanted to kiss you and I would have if Melissa hadn't interrupted. What did it say, the letter I mean?" Emily asked quietly.

"What does it matter? You've made your feelings perfectly clear." Naomi responded.

Now it was Emily turn to get angry, "Yes, I think I have made my feelings clear. I don't want Melissa, I didn't want her to kiss me. I wanted you to kiss me. For fuck's sake Naomi, not sure how much more I can do or say to spell it out for you, why don't you grow a pair and just tell me how you feel?"

Naomi crossed the room and cupped Emily's face in her hands before she covered the redhead's mouth with her own. She poured everything she was feeling into the kiss. All the memories of Cyprus, the longing of her daydreams, her happiness at seeing the redhead on the first day of term and the upset she felt when they fought. It started tentatively as the confusion and doubt flowed between them, this was replaced by passion and want as the kiss intensified, finally it became gentle and tender before the blonde pulled away and stared deeply into Emily's eyes.

"That's how I feel about you." Naomi whispered before turning and exiting the bathroom.

* * *

Katie was making her way to the toilet when she was nearly knocked over by Naomi coming through the doorway.

"Why don't you look where you're going next time?" she snarled at the blonde.

Naomi stared blankly at her, "Sorry Katie I didn't see you. I need to go home but I hope you and Emily enjoy the rest of your birthday celebrations."

Katie noticed how flustered she looked, "Thanks, speaking of Emily have you seen her?"

Naomi nodded, "Er yeah, she's erm, in there." she replied motioning towards the toilets before she made a quick exit from the pub.

Katie tutted and said "Stupid cow." before entering the bathroom.

From across the pub Effy watched the exchange with interest. She was torn, she knew she should probably go after the blonde but she finally decided the best thing she could do right now was to keep Melissa occupied and make sure she didn't interrupt the twins.

"So Melissa," she started fixing the girl with her best smile, "tell me a bit more about yourself. What A levels are you studying for instance?"

The dark haired girl stared at her suspiciously before smiling back, _she's pretty and she's taking an interes_t Melissa thought before starting to tell the brunette her life story.

Effy sighed before fixing the smile on her face and nodding as Melissa launched into yet another fascinating tale, _the pair of them owe me big time for this_.

* * *

Katie walked into the bathroom and found Emily staring into space with her fingers pressed against her lips.

"There you are, I've been looking all over for you. We're moving on to the club now so I thought you'd want this." Katie said holding out Emily's bag for her.

Emily snapped out of her trance and stared at her twin, "Sorry, what did you say?"

Katie rolled her eyes, "I said we're going to the club and I thought you'd want your bag."

Emily shook her head, "I'm not going to the club, I'm going home instead."

"Hellooooo, what is it with everyone tonight? Naomi practically knocked me over when she was leaving and now you're behaving all strangely too." Katie replied.

Emily's head snapped up at the mention of the blonde, "Naomi's gone?"

Katie sighed, "That's what I just said didn't I? When are you going to tell me what's wrong Em?"

The redhead shoulders slumped and she reached into her bag for the book Naomi had made for her, she handed it over to her twin who stared at it in confusion.

"What's this?" Katie enquired.

"It's a birthday present, open it." Emily instructed.

Katie did what she was told, she read the inscription and started to flick through the pages, she looked up, "I don't understand."

Emily sighed, "I met someone when I was in Cyprus, we were the only two young people at the hotel so we started to hang out around the pool and go out for dinner, you know normal stuff. We'd both flown from Bristol but she said she was at Goldsmiths in London so I didn't want her to think I was still at school so I lied and said I was at uni too. We were both on holiday to get over being cheated on, only in her case it was her boyfriend who she'd caught shagging someone else."

"Oh God, you didn't try to turn a straight girl Em?" Katie asked.

Emily shook her head, "You know the rules, I never go there."

Katie rolled her eyes, "How fit was she?"

Emily smiled, "She's rather beautiful actually. But that's not the point, she came on to me, I didn't need to turn her. She knew I fancied her but she was the one who got jealous when I kissed someone else. So we ended up having a row and when we eventually talked about it she admitted she liked me too. After that we were joined at the hip."

"So did you take it any further, you know sleep together?" Katie stopped as she reached the picture of the alleyway, "Oh, that's pretty much answered my question. So what happened?"

Emily took a deep breath, "We agreed not to keep in touch, I didn't want her to find out I'd lied about my age but it turns out neither of us had been totally honest, she wasn't at Goldsmiths either. She lives in Bristol with her Mum and is still at school. In fact she's at Parkview and she gave me that present today. So the reason I've been so moody is because we keep meeting up and I think maybe we're going to get together but then we always seem to have an argument. Katie, I've never felt like this about anyone before."

"Does she feel the same?" Katie asked gently.

Emily thought back to the kiss they'd just shared, "I think so."

Katie shrugged, "So what's the problem, you like her, she likes you. She used to be into cock but now she's decided to speak the vagina monologues."

"I wish it was that simple but it's not, she's back with her boyfriend." Emily said with a sigh.

Katie's brow furrowed, "Who exactly is it, this girl you met in Cyprus?"

"Look at the inscription Katie." Emily suggested.

Katie turned to the front of the book, "N, who's N? Oh my god it's not that Natasha girl is it, she's a total slag, she'll shag anything."

Emily rolled her eyes, she knew Katie wasn't the brightest spark but she thought she might have worked it out by now especially given the scene she found when she came into the bathroom. She waited patiently as her twin continued to think. "Would it help if I told you her boyfriend is Cook?"

Katie looked confused, "But Cook is going out with...fucking hell Em, you're not serious?"

Emily smiled sadly, "Yeah, the girl I met in Cyprus, the one who I can't stop thinking about, the one I think I might fallen for. It's Naomi."


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Here's chapter 5 which is a bit of a filler update but ok I think. For those of you who have expressed frustration because it is taking so long for Naomily to get together, bad news I'm afraid - they're both stubborn and I love me a bit of drama. But please keep reading, I hope it will be worth it. The next couple of chapters will see things progress quite a bit but they won't be without their angst.**

**I'm also going to try to update always with you this weekend or early next week as it had been too long and it's definitely overdue. I can only apologise and say in my defence I'm in the head of 17 year old Naomily rather than the older version. Also the first few chapters are likely to be sad to write before it gets more positive.**

**Thank you so much for all of the alerts and reviews. It really does prove to be my biggest motivation so please continue to let me know what you think.**

* * *

Naomi stood in the girls' toilet and stared at her reflection, she looked tired. She rubbed her eyes and sighed,

"Oh great now I've got panda eyes to go with the dark circles" she said as she looked back into the mirror.

She knew the reason she looked tired was because she hadn't been able to sleep properly for weeks, or to be more precise ever since she had kissed Emily in the bathroom of the pub. Since that night she had avoided being alone with the redhead, afraid that being on their own would mean they could talk about what happened, afraid that Emily would have the opportunity to tell her that she didn't feel the same way as her. By avoiding the redhead Naomi could keep the faint hope alive that their relationship could be something more than friendship.

The blonde went into one of the cubicles and tore off some tissue which she used to wipe round her eyes. She knew she hadn't been acting like herself recently and that people were starting to notice. She'd overheard some of the whispered conversations between her fellow sixth formers, the ones that speculated she was going a bit mad or worse, soft.

"Maybe I am going crazy." She said to her reflection and then smiled, wasn't the first sign of madness supposed to be talking to yourself? She groaned loudly, Emily Fitch was driving her insane, she couldn't stop thinking about her, couldn't stop wanting her no matter how hard she tried and she had tried, very hard. Nothing worked, nothing stopped the dreams, asleep and awake, nothing displaced the thoughts. She knew her schoolwork was suffering but it was hard to conjugate French verbs or argue why the Russian revolution happened when all her brain could concentrate on was the kiss they shared, the feel of Emily's soft, perfect lips on her own, how much she wanted to do more, much more.

She jumped as the door opened but she breathed a sigh of relief when she realised it was only Effy.

The brunette smiled at her, "So this is where you've been hiding? I've been searching for a while."

Naomi shrugged, "I needed some peace, Eff, I think I'm losing the plot."

"_Looking so crazy in love's, Got me looking, got me looking so crazy in love._ _Uh oh, uh oh, uh oh, oh no, no," _Effy sang to her friend with a smirk. The brunette only just managed to move out of the way as Naomi took a swipe at her.

"It's not fucking funny, I'm a total wreck and it's all Emily Fitch's fault. I mean you've known me virtually all my life, when have you ever seen me like this?" Naomi asked.

Effy paused, "Never, but then again I don't think I've ever seen you in _lurve _before."

"Effy, I'm warning you, shut up. I'm all over the place as it is, I really don't need you taking the piss as well." Naomi looked as if she was about to cry.

Effy grew serious and walked over to the blonde, "Sorry, I was trying to lighten the mood. I didn't realise this was getting to you so much."

"You're about the only one and you're usually so perceptive." Naomi replied sarcastically.

Effy held out her arms and pulled her friend into a hug, initially Naomi froze, she and Effy weren't really the tactile type, well not when they were sober anyway, but eventually she returned the embrace. She was glad of the contact, no matter how unusual.

"Is there anything I can do to help?" Effy asked as she released the blonde.

Naomi shrugged, "Get her expelled?"

Effy laughed, "You don't mean that. I'm serious, apart from the obvious 'I want to fuck Emily's brains out' problem what's your biggest headache at the moment?"

Naomi snorted, "That's fucking easy, two words for you - 'evil twin'."

Effy paused, she'd noticed Katie's behaviour over the past couple of weeks, she was increasingly dismissive of Naomi and often stood up to her in front of the rest of the sixth form. At times it was like she was challenging the blonde in an attempt to push her too far, up until now Naomi had controlled herself but Effy could tell she was getting to the end of her tether. Effy had a fairly good idea why Katie was being so cocky but she hadn't mentioned her suspicions to Naomi. _I'm going to have to tell her, _she thought with a resigned sigh.

"Naoms, you don't think Katie's standing up to you so much because Emily's told her about Cyprus do you?" Effy ventured, planting the seed into the blonde's mind.

Naomi paused before snorting, "of course, it all makes sense now. She was squaring up to me because she knew about me and Emily. She even dropped hints about keeping her mouth shut and having secrets but I was so annoyed I didn't get the significance at the time. How long have you known?"

Effy shrugged, "I suspected straight away but it's only been the past week that I've been sure. I didn't want to say anything too early in case I was wrong."

"So then wise old oracle, what do I do? I can't confront her as she'll tell everyone but I can't ignore it either, her insolence is starting to rub off on the others and soon all the sixth form will think I'm a pushover." Naomi stated.

Effy frowned for a minute while she was thinking, "You're right you can't do anything, but I can."

"Eff, don't make things worse please." Naomi pleaded.

"Naomi Campbell, have a little faith, like you said we've known each other forever, have I ever let you down?" Effy chastised.

"Well there was that time in primary school when..." Naomi started.

Effy tutted, "Oh for God's sake let it go Naomi it was 10 years ago and I didn't know Tommy Marshall was going to steal your clothes. Look just trust me ok? I promise I'll sort Katie out and it will make things better not worse."

Naomi narrowed her eyes, "What exactly are you going to do?"

Effy smiled sweetly, too sweetly, "You don't need to know the detail but let's just say Katie Fitch has seriously underestimated how evil a bitch I can be and I think it's time I pointed it out to her."

Naomi gulped, she was always slightly scared when Effy was in this mood. She almost felt sorry for Katie, but then she shrugged. _What goes around comes around_, she thought with a slight smile.

* * *

Katie poked her head out of the common room doorway and checked if the coast was clear, she didn't want to run into Emily again. They'd had another disagreement that morning about that stupid cow Campbell. Emily had told her to back off and stop giving the blonde cheek in front of everybody as it was embarrassing for her and horrible for Naomi. Katie didn't understand why Emily kept sticking up for the blonde after the way she'd treated her, _I suppose that's why she's the sappy twin, she always lets people walk all over her,_ Katie thought as she made her way down the corridor.

Katie sighed, she thought she'd been pretty supportive of Emily after she'd found out about her Cyprus fuckfest with the Head Girl but Em didn't seem to appreciate that Katie was only looking out for her, standing up to the blonde where Emily either couldn't or wouldn't.

Suddenly someone grabbed her arm and dragged her into one of the empty rooms. After the element of surprise had gone Katie's instincts kicked in and she spun around, pinning her assailant to the wall in the process.

"What the fuck do you think you're doing?" she asked.

Effy chuckled, "Hmmm Katie, this is all very sudden but I'm game if you are."

The brunette watched as a look of confusion passed over Katie's face, "What?"

"Sorry, I thought you were propositioning me. I mean our bodies are incredibly close and I could easily lean over and kiss you, if that's what you wanted." Effy said licking her lips.

Katie sneered, "Sorry sweetheart but Emily's the twin that drinks from the furry cup, not me. I'm 100% straight."

"Don't knock it until you've tried it Katiekins, "Effy said with a wink.

Katie gasped, "Fuck off, you're disgusting."

Effy's demeanour changed, totally gone was the air of flirtation and it was replaced with a cold determination. She pushed Katie backwards into one of the chairs. She leaned down and whispered into the twin's ear.

"Don't worry Katie, I wouldn't piss on you if you were on fire. That was just a little demonstration of how appearances can be deceptive and hopefully now you're starting to realise that you might not be the biggest bitch in the room after all." Effy hissed.

She stood back and was pleased to see the twin's self assured cockiness had been replaced by an element of fear. "You and I need to have a little chat."

"Wh..wh..what about?" Katie said nervously.

Effy folded her arms, "First you need to back off giving Naomi a hard time, she's the Head Girl and regardless of your personal feelings that means you will show her some fucking respect."

"Why should I? Respect needs to be earned and she's not doing very well so far." Katie responded.

Effy leaned forward again so their faces were close, "You will show her some fucking respect or I will beat the crap out of you and I don't mean handbags at dawn, I mean hospital food here we come. Have you seen that girl Stella?"

Katie paused, "What the one with the limp?"

Effy nodded, "How do you think her leg got broken so badly she can't walk properly anymore?"

Katie's eyes widened, "You did that? What did she do to you?"

Effy stood up and shrugged, "She was sitting in my seat in English, when she wouldn't move I made her. I'm not even sorry, I gave her plenty of opportunity to sit somewhere else."

Katie gulped, "Fine I'll try to be more respectful towards Naomi, but you don't know the reason why I have an issue with her, if you did you might be more sympathetic."

Effy smiled, "Which brings me nicely onto the second half of our chat. You and I are going to team up and make sure Naomi and Emily get together."

"Over my dead body," Katie scoffed.

Effy raised her hands, "We can do it that way if you want but I'd prefer that we worked together."

Katie started to get annoyed, "Look you've obviously only got Naomi's take on these things, which is bound to be skewed in her favour. She hasn't treated Emily very well."

"Katie, I get the fact that you want to protect Emily, which is actually quite nice. But you're wrong, I've talked to both of them at length about what happened in Cyprus and since the start of term. They're crazy about each other but both of them are too stubborn and scared to take the plunge in case the other one rejects them. Seriously at first I thought it was sweet but now it's starting to do my head in." Effy responded.

Katie frowned, "So how long have you known then?"

"Naomi told me the day she got back from Cyprus, it was all 'Emily this and Emily was so sweet and hot and fuckable'. Blah blah blah. I worked out who Emily was on the first day of term after I saw their meet and greet, I mean you must have noticed the flirting?" Effy said.

Katie nodded, "I accused Em of eye fucking her, I suppose I didn't think to look and see if Naomi was doing it back."

Effy snorted, "Oh God she was, really blatantly as well which isn't like her at all. She couldn't help herself."

Katie scowled, "So if Naomi is so into Emily why is she still with Cook?"

Effy waved her hand, "Don't worry about that, they never got back together. Naomi let Emily believe they did because she wanted to hurt her when she described their holiday romance as a fling and said she hadn't told anyone. Naomi thought it didn't mean anything to Emily."

"Oh for fuck's sake, so why hasn't she told her, you've got to admit that's pretty mean?" Katie replied indignantly.

Effy raised her eyebrow, "Is it any worse than Emily letting Naomi see her all the time with Melissa?"

Katie paused, she knew her twin was encouraging Melissa by paying her attention. It was annoying her but she hadn't actually said anything to Emily. She shrugged, "I suppose not. Emily has no intention of taking her back so it is a bit cruel to lead her on to make Naomi jealous."

Effy nodded, "So we're agreed, they are as bad as each other and the sooner they admit how they feel the better."

Katie stared at her, "Why do you care so much, I mean you hardly even know Emily."

Effy smiled, "Naomi is my best friend and I want her to be happy, if Emily is the person to do that then I want to do everything I can to help. Surely it's the same for you and Emily?"

"I suppose so, I just don't want her to get hurt. Melissa really fucked her up, I'd hate Naomi to do the same." Katie replied.

"That's why we need to team up, to make sure things run more smoothly than if we leave them to their own devices. Anyway, you owe Emily as this is partly your fault in the first place." Effy said to the twin.

Katie frowned, "How do you work that out?"

Effy shrugged, "You were the one who booked Emily on the holiday because you didn't want her cramping your style in Ibiza, if you'd let her come with you she'd never have met Naomi."

"How fucking dare you, that's not true." Katie started. She paused as Effy raised her eyebrow, "Alright it might be a bit true." Another pause and another raised eyebrow. "Ok, it is mostly true but Em is much quieter than me I did think she'd prefer the tranquillity of Cyprus to the party scene in Ibiza."

"So do we have a deal?" Effy held out her hand, she could see that Katie was still not totally convinced so she made one last push to finally persuade her. "Look Katie I'm going to do this with or without your help, like I said I'd prefer to have you as a friend but don't think I won't make an enemy of you and believe me I will make your life a living hell if that happens. So the choice is simple, friends or enemies, enjoyable year at school or face waking up every morning wishing you were dead?"

Katie gulped before making up her mind and taking the brunette's hand, "Ok we have a deal, I'd prefer not to be your enemy if I can help it."

Effy smiled at her, "Excellent choice Katie. So I suggest we go away and have a little think about what we can do to expedite things between our two reluctant main players. We can meet again later in the week to work out a plan. Oh and don't say anything to Emily about Naomi and Cook, it's Naomi's place to tell her, not yours."

Katie sighed, "Ok, but I don't like keeping things from Ems so Naomi had better come clean soon."

"Don't worry she will, well assuming we can actually get them speaking to each other." Effy replied.

"With your brains and my looks it'll be a piece of cake," Katie responded.

Effy paused before bursting out laughing, "I'm glad you have such confidence."

Katie was surprised when the brunette leant over and pecked her on the lips, "What the fuck?"

Effy winked at her and walked off, "I think you and I are going to get along just fine Katiekins."

_I'm sure we'll get along great as long as she stops freaking me out like that,_ Katie thought as she watched the brunette leave the room.

* * *

Emily stared at the book in front of her, the words were beginning to swim around the page as she struggled to take them in. She was good at history, in fact she'd been top of her class at Kingsmead when they took their GCSEs, it was one of the main reasons she'd decided to take it for A level.

_So how come I'm finding this such a struggle then?_ She thought. Part of the reason was that there was a significant step up between GCSE and A level, so it was bound to take some time to adjust. She sighed, who was she trying to kid, while the new curriculum was by necessity demanding she knew that some if not most of the reason she was struggling was to do with Naomi. Naturally she'd seen the blonde around at school but they never seemed to be alone and if they spoke to each other at all it was polite but not particularly friendly. At one point she'd started to think Naomi was doing it on purpose, making sure they were always surrounded by fellow pupils but Katie had scoffed at her and said she was paranoid. Her twin was probably right, it was pretty arrogant of her to think Naomi would need to avoid her, _I doubt I feature in her thoughts at all really_, Emily thought with a resigned sigh.

She turned back to her book and tried to concentrate. She was frowning slightly when she sensed someone walk into the library, she heard a quiet "shit" being mumbled and looked up into the blue eyed stare of Naomi.

The redhead smiled at the blonde before saying, "Hi, I don't often see you in here."

Naomi shrugged as she walked over, "Normally I study at home but I needed a book and there's a bit of a free for all at my place at the moment so it's not that quiet."

"How do you mean a free for all?" Emily asked as she moved some of her things so the blonde could sit down.

Naomi pulled out the chair, "Thanks. I'm not sure if you remember, I mean there's no reason why you would, but I told you my Mum was a bit new age?"

Emily nodded, "I remember although I think you used the term 'nutty hippie' rather than new age."

Naomi smiled, "I meant it affectionately. Anyway she's always going on some rally about this or that to do with Human Rights or Eco policy or political protest. She's off on one at the end of the month and this week her and her weirdy beardy mates are planning their strategy, at my house, loudly. Hence the need for some peace and quiet."

They sat and stared at each other for a while before Emily broke the silence, "Naomi, can we talk please?"

The blonde shifted uncomfortably, "Alright, what do you want to talk about?"

Emily looked at her hands, "Maybe I've got it all wrong but I've got the impression you've been avoiding me."

"Why do you think that?" Naomi asked staring at the redhead. Naomi felt bad pretending not to know what Emily was on about but it felt a bit childish to admit she had been keeping out of the redhead's way.

Emily shrugged, "I'm not sure but it seems you don't really want to be anywhere with me on our own."

Naomi sighed, "Well we're in the library on our own aren't we? I don't seem to be in a hurry to get away."

Emily nodded and then took a deep breath, "Naomi, you need to understand that my first thought when I see you isn't 'I want to fuck that girl'. We shared something in Cyprus and we've kissed since, it was nice but it's also nice just being with you, when you're not being a prick that is."

Naomi smiled, "I like spending time with you too. I'm sorry if it's been a bit strange. I suppose I don't really know how to act around you here in Bristol, apart from being a prick."

Emily finally looked at the blonde, "Can't we try to be friends? Everything seems so intense and it's horrible. Don't get me wrong what happened in Cyprus meant something to me, it was amazing, but as I said to you at the time I'd rather have you as a friend than not have any kind of relationship with you at all."

Naomi studied the redhead, "I'd like us to be friends too. Listen I know you said it as a distraction to Melissa but maybe we could study together, if you want to?"

Emily smiled and it caused Naomi's stomach to flip, "Study buddies, I like that."

Naomi reached over and took the book Emily was reading, "So what are you trying to digest at the moment?"

Emily sighed, "The causes of the French Revolution, I mean I know it was political and social unrest coupled with financial meltdown but that hardly writes a 2,000 word essay does it?"

Naomi paused, "Do you want me to take a look at what you've written?"

Emily smiled shyly, "Thanks that would be really nice."

The redhead handed over her fledgling essay and watched as Naomi quickly scanned the text. After she had finished Naomi looked up.

"It's good but I'm not sure you've conveyed the American influence enough." Naomi stated.

Emily looked surprised, "I've mentioned the War of Independence, what do you mean?"

Naomi sighed, "Yes you've mentioned it but it was far more significant than that. France sent a lot of troops over to help, they were submerged in the war they saw how the power of the majority, even if they were lower or working class, could change things. The soldiers that survived came back with very definite ideas and ideals, they believed they could change their own country, not be treated like second class citizens."

Emily watched as Naomi spoke about various themes, she had heard other people in her class talk and even the teachers, but it was never as passionately as the blonde. She thought back to the day trip they'd been on in Cyprus and could now understand why Naomi was so knowledgeable.

She focused on Naomi's lips and watched as they moved as the blonde spoke. _God, I think they're the most kissable lips I've ever seen_ she thought as she drifted off into a daydream. She was mesmerised and it wasn't until she felt Naomi's gaze on her that she realised she had been staring.

"Sorry, did you ask me a question?" Emily enquired.

Naomi looked at her, "I asked you if you wanted to come over to my house and study on Saturday? My Mum won't mind and maybe after we've revised we can get a pizza and watch a film or something."

A smile broke out across Emily's face, "That would be really nice."

Naomi took out a pen and wrote on Emily's notebook, "So here's my address and I guess I'll see you on Saturday."

Emily nodded, "I'll be over about twelve is that ok?"

"Perfect." Naomi replied with a smile as she walked over to the desk with her book, ready to check it out.

* * *

Emily searched through her wardrobe again, she cried out in frustration, "Why the fuck can't I find anything to wear?"

She checked her watch, it was 11 o'clock and that meant she only had about half an hour to get ready before she'd need to set off to Naomi's. She flicked through the rails of clothes again mentally discounting each one, _no, no, no, what on earth was I thinking?_

She was so focused on her task that she didn't notice Katie walk into the room, the twin paused for a minute watch her sister and a puzzled look crept across her face.

"What exactly are you doing?" Katie said making Emily jump.

"I'm cooking breakfast, what does it bloody well look like I'm doing, I'm trying to find something to wear." Emily replied sarcastically.

Katie paused, Em had been acting strangely for most of the week but wouldn't tell her why. She and Effy had speculated that it might be to do with Naomi but Effy had said the blonde was equally evasive when questioned.

Katie pulled a top from her sister's wardrobe, "What's wrong with this? It's normally what you'd wear on Saturday."

Emily shook her head, "That's a staying round the house top, I'm going out."

Katie raised her eyebrow, "Really? Where are you going?"

Emily paused and chose her words carefully, "I'm erm, I'm going to a study group." It wasn't exactly a lie, even if it wasn't quite the whole truth either.

"So who cares what you wear? It's just you and your geeky friends at the library, if you manage to turn up with a pair of matching shoes on you'll easily be the most stylish person there." Katie responded.

Emily shifted and looked down, "Actually, it's not at the library, it's at Naomi's house."

A smile spread across Katie's face, "Oh now I get it, you want to look hot so blondie will spend more time with you than the others."

Emily coughed and started to blush, "Hmmm, I think it's just going to be me and Naomi."

Katie began to laugh, "Oh my God, you've got a date."

"It's a study group." Emily corrected.

"Study group my arse, is that all you'll be doing?" Katie questioned.

Again Emily could feel the colour rising in her cheeks, "Well Naomi did mention something about getting a pizza and maybe watching a movie afterwards but I'm sure she only meant it to be friendly."

Katie shook her head, "Naomi and Emily up a tree, k.i.s.s.i.n.g."

"Fuck off Katie, now are you going to help me chose something to wear or not?" Emily said in an annoyed voice.

Katie stopped her teasing and ran through her twin's clothes, she picked out a top and skirt and handed them over, "Wear these, you always look cute in these."

Emily sighed, she knew she was going to have to be honest, "Actually, I wanted something a bit more, you know sexy maybe."

Katie grinned at her, "So you admit it's a date?"

Emily rolled her eyes, "Ok you win, I don't think it's a date but I hope it's more than just a study group."

"Now that wasn't too hard was it?" Katie picked out a skirt and cardigan before she went over to her own wardrobe and pulled out a lowish cut top. "This dear sister, will make her eyes stand out on stalks."

She watched as Emily frowned slightly before putting the clothes on, once she had dressed a small smile appeared on her face, "I know it's not totally my usual thing but I look pretty good."

Katie checked the clock, "Isn't it about time you set off?"

Emily looked at the time, "Shit, I'm going to be late if I'm not careful. I'll see you later."

Katie watched her go and immediately picked up her phone. She dialled the number and waited for it to ring a few times before being picked up.

"Hey it's me. Our job might be a bit easier than we thought. Guess who's having a very cosy study group at her house today?" Katie asked

She paused, waiting for the reply.

"Yep, just the two of them. Studying first then pizza and a movie." Katie said.

Another pause.

"Of course I did, she looked good. It's a pity there's not enough time for you to do the same but I rang you as soon as I could. I'll speak to you later if there's an update."

Katie hung up the phone and smiled to herself, maybe Emily and Naomi didn't need that much of their help after all.

* * *

Naomi stared at her reflection in the full length mirror, she'd changed her clothes at least 10 times already until finally she settled on her current outfit. _For God's sake get over yourself, it's just Emily, your friend, coming round to study it's no big deal,_ she thought for the millionth time before she shook her head. _Who am I trying to fool? It's Emily, the object of my obsession, coming round to study and hang out, where she's concerned it's always a big deal._

She snapped out of her thoughts as her phone started to ring, _please don't let that be Emily phoning to cancel_. She was relieved when she saw Effy's name on the display and she answered straight away.

"Hi Eff, can you make this quick, I'm in the middle of something." Naomi said.

"_Oh that's charming. I just wanted to see if you fancied going to the pub this afternoon." The brunette replied._

"Sorry, I can't I have plans." Naomi replied.

"_Really, what plans would they be then, you never do anything on a Saturday." Effy stated._

Naomi paused, "Err, nothing that special I just need to study while the house is quiet."

_Effy chuckled, "Will you be studying alone?"_

Naomi sighed, "Who told you?"

"_Katie has just given me a call, I knew you were hiding something this week." Effy replied_

Naomi frowned, "I wouldn't exactly call it hiding something, I ran into Emily in the library and asked her if she wanted to study with me today. It was her idea initially if you remember."

"_Hmmm, and do you have any other plans after you've finished studying, pizza, a few beers, a film perhaps?" Effy asked in an amused tone._

Naomi sighed again, "Look I may have mentioned we could hang out afterwards but it's no big deal, just two mates spending some time together."

_Effy laughed, "So it's definitely not a date then?"_

Naomi became indignant, "No it's not a date. I mean honestly why would I ask Emily on a fucking date that consisted of coming round to my house to study?"

"_Ok calm down. Jesus Naomi don't stress so much. But just so we're clear if it's definitely not a date you won't have changed your outfit at least 10 times will you?" Effy questioned_

"Err, no I wouldn't have." Naomi said cautiously.

"_If it's not a date you won't have picked a horror movie so you'll have to cuddle up together, you'll have picked something funny, right?" Effy continued._

Naomi swallowed, "Yeah, that would be correct."

_Effy laughed, "Don't lie to me Naomi. How many times have you changed?"_

"About 10." The blonde replied

"_What's the movie?" Effy asked._

"Paranormal activity 2." Naomi answered sheepishly.

_Effy sighed, "It's a date Naomi."_

Naomi suddenly heard the doorbell ring and was grateful for the interruption "Sorry Eff, got to go that's the door."

She made her way downstairs and as she reached the front door she heard her phone beep, she checked the message, it was from Effy.

"_Saved by the bell Naoms. Don't think I won't be calling for a full debrief later. X"_

Naomi tutted, "It's not a fucking date." She muttered under her breath.

She opened the door and found Emily standing nervously on the doorstep. Naomi ushered her inside and took her coat. Finally she noticed what Emily was wearing, the redhead had managed to look seriously cute at the same time as looking incredibly sexy. It took all Naomi's strength not to moan out loud as she stared at Emily.

_Oh God, I wish it was a date _she thought as she led Emily upstairs so they could study in peace.

* * *

A number of hours later they sat in the kitchen, there was a half empty pizza box on the table and Naomi smiled at Emily as she opened a beer and handed it to her.

"Thanks," the redhead said as she accepted the bottle and took a large swig. "I found today really useful, it's great having someone to bounce ideas off."

Naomi nodded as she sat back down and took another slice of pizza. "Yeah me too, even though we're at different stages of the curriculum it's been a big help having a different perspective."

Emily picked up a slice of her own and took a bite, she suddenly pulled a face and spat it out, "Sorry, that must have looked awful but I really can't stand anchovies."

Naomi started to laugh, "So I see. One of mine must have crept onto your half. I mean I know the half and half pizza is a great invention but it still has a margin of error."

Emily eyed her slice suspiciously, "You don't think there's any more on there do you. My mouth tastes all fishy."

"Oh wow a lesbian who doesn't like the taste of fish..." Naomi said with a smirk.

"Naomi! Don't be so bloody vulgar." Emily admonished the blonde.

Naomi looked embarrassed, "Sorry, I didn't mean to be rude."

"Anyway, it's just anchovies, other fish is fine, in fact I wolf it down whenever I can." Emily replied with a wink.

Naomi felt herself blushing, "Who's being crude now?"

They descended into awkward silence, punctuated only by the sound of chewing and the slurping of beer. Finally Emily spoke, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to be offensive. It's just we used to joke like that all the time in Cyprus, even before we, well you know, slept together. I know it's not the same now and I shouldn't expect it to be but I miss it, I miss being totally relaxed with you."

Naomi smiled, "I know, I miss it too. It felt so easy when we were there, I felt like I'd known you for ages. Now it feels a bit more uncomfortable and I don't even really know why."

Emily frowned, "I can't speak for you but from my point of view it was because we'd agreed to be whoever we wanted to. I felt much freer and under less pressure to behave in a certain way. The ironic thing is that I was probably more myself with you for those two weeks than I manage in a year in Bristol. Here I'm Emily Fitch, Katie's twin sister, there I was just Emily."

Naomi nodded in agreement, "I think you've hit the nail exactly on the head. I felt like I was able to be a bit of a sap or make a fool of myself and you wouldn't think any less of me because of it. Here I've spent so long building a reputation for being a bad ass bitch or aloof and superior I sometimes think I've forgotten how to have fun in case people use it against me or see it as a weakness. It can be quite lonely at times."

Emily reached over and took the blonde's hand, "How about we make an arrangement?"

"Go on." Naomi said, clearly intrigued by the redhead's suggestion.

"When we spend time together we can always act however we want without fear of judgement. So if I want to go a bit crazy, you're the friend I'll turn to. If you want to be silly, you'll come to me and so on. We'll be able to cope with our designated, straightjacket roles and behave exactly how everyone expects us to because we'll know we can always spend time with each other and be different." Emily finished and looked expectantly at the blonde who was frowning slightly.

Slowly a smile spread across Naomi's face, "I like it, no in fact I love the idea. I'm more relaxed with Effy but usually only after half a bottle of vodka, it'll be good to act out of character sometimes."

Emily shook her head, "It's not out of character, it's just the aspects of our personalities we don't get to show very often. So for you that might mean admitting you have a sense of humour."

Naomi stared at her, "Are you taking the piss?"

Emily laughed, her eyes twinkling, "Most definitely, piss taking is an integral part of our friendship and if you can't hack it then we might have to forget the whole thing."

Naomi stared back at her before taking a slice of pizza, she picked up one of the toppings and flicked it at the redhead. "Anchovy attack." She said nonchalantly.

"You fucking bitch," Emily replied with a gasp, "I'm going to stink of fish now."

Naomi smiled at her, "Hate to tell you Em, but you already do."

Emily got up from the table and made her way to the blonde, "Right I'm going to get you back for that, it was totally out of order."

Naomi jumped in surprise as she felt the remains of her beer being tipped over her head, "What a fucking waste. This is war Fitch, and I don't take prisoners."

* * *

Gina let herself into the house carrying some shopping and did a double take as she reached the kitchen. The person chasing the redheaded girl round the table carrying what looked suspiciously like a slice of pizza certainly resembled her daughter, in fact the likeness was uncanny, but it couldn't be Naomi.

_She's normally so prim and proper, I haven't seen her this relaxed in a long time_, Gina thought as she smiled to herself. She continued to watch as her daughter finally caught the redhead and pinned her against the table holding the pizza near her face.

"Do you surrender?" Naomi said.

The redhead shook her head, "Never, do your worst Campbell, I can take it."

Gina entered the kitchen and coughed, "I do hope you're going to clear up this mess once you're done."

They jumped apart and Naomi turned to face her, "Hi Mum, I didn't hear you come in."

"Evidently not, you were too busy running around the table I expect," Gina replied with a smile.

Both Naomi and Emily started to blush. Naomi placed the pizza in the box, "How long have you been standing there?"

"Not long I've only just got back from the supermarket. So are you going to introduce me?" Gina said nodding towards the redhead.

Naomi nodded, "Sorry of course, Mum this is my friend Emily from school, Emily this is my Mum Gina."

Emily finally looked up, "Hi Mrs Campbell, it's nice to meet you. I won't offer you my hand as it's a bit sticky from the beer and pizza."

Gina took it anyway, "Oh don't worry about that love, I've shaken worse believe me, and it's Gina."

"Right um ok Gina." Emily said shyly.

"So are you in Naomi's year, she hasn't mentioned you before." Gina asked.

Emily faltered unsure of how to answer, "Err, no I'm in the year below, I've only just transferred from Kingsmead."

Naomi interjected, "Actually we met when I was in Cyprus over the summer didn't we Em? Neither of us knew the other was going to be at Parkview so it was a bit of a shock on the first day of term. We're both taking history and French at A level so we thought we might as well study together. We finished a while ago and were having something to eat and then we're going to watch a film."

Gina watched her daughter with interest as the words tumbled quickly from her mouth. Naomi hadn't mentioned she'd made any friends on holiday but Effy's words came back to her, _she'll tell you when she's ready_. So there was something Naomi wasn't telling her, but she couldn't pinpoint what it was.

"So are you staying over tonight Emily?" Gina asked.

Emily glanced at Naomi, "I'm... I'm not sure. I hadn't planned to."

Naomi smiled, "You can do if you want? I mean friends stay over each other's houses all the time. It'll probably be quite late after we've watched the film."

Emily nodded, "If you're sure it's ok Mrs Cam... I mean Gina. I don't want to be any trouble."

"Of course it's fine love, we're used to having a full house here. Do you need to check it's ok with your Mum?" Gina said

Emily nodded and reached into her bag for her phone. She had a brief conversation with her Mum before she sighed. She turned to Gina, "Sorry she wants to speak to you."

Emily rolled her eyes at Naomi as they pieced together the whole conversation based on the half they could hear.

"This is Gina Campbell, Naomi's Mum." Gina said as she picked up the phone

"Hi Jenna, it's nice to talk to you. Of course it's fine if Emily stays, she's welcome any time. She's such a polite girl, a real credit to you."

Naomi pulled a face at Emily at that point and the redhead responded by poking out her tongue.

"Well apparently they met in Cyprus over the summer and now they're both at Parkview but I had no idea." Gina continued to listen to the reply.

Gina laughed, "I know exactly what you mean, I'm lucky to get more than a grunt these days. Anyway I'll hand you back now, take care."

She handed the phone back to Emily who listened to her Mum patiently, "Mum it's fine, I'll make sure I'm back in time for dinner ok. Alright I'll ask her."

She covered the mouth piece and whispered to Naomi, "My Mum wants to know if you want to come round for tea one night next week?"

Naomi shrugged, "Yeah, I suppose so. Is Wednesday any good?"

"How's Wednesday?" Emily asked and gave Naomi the thumbs up, "Ok I'll see you tomorrow."

She hung up the phone and sighed, "Jesus, you'd hardly believe I was 17 would you? It's not like I'm out on a school night and I told her where I was going about a million times."

Gina smiled at Naomi, "You never stop worrying about your babies."

Naomi groaned and grabbed the redhead's hand, "Oh God, kill me now. Come on Em, let's get cleaned up and watch the film, we can watch the it in my room. Night Mum."

"Yeah, night Gina, it was nice to meet you." Emily said.

"Night both." Gina said as she watched them leave the room.

* * *

Katie wandered into the kitchen and found her Mum reading the paper. "Is Em not back yet?" she asked.

Jenna looked up, "Hmmm, no she's staying over her friend's house."

Katie raised her eyebrow, "Really?"

Jenna nodded, "Who is this Naomi by the way, Emily hasn't mentioned her before."

"Err, she's the Head Girl at Parkview and they were studying together today." Katie replied.

Jenna rolled her eyes, "I know that Katie, I do listen when you or Emily tell me things. What I mean is how come they are close enough to have sleepovers but this is the first I've heard of her."

Katie shifted, "I'm not sure, you'll have to ask Emily."

"Naomi's Mum mentioned something about them meeting in Cyprus this Summer, did your sister say anything to you?" Jenna questioned.

Katie paused as if she was trying to think, "Don't remember her telling me. Jesus Mum, what is this, the Spanish Inquisition?"

Jenna studied her daughter, she could always tell when Katie was lying or hiding something. Clearly there was more to this than met the eye but she knew Katie would clam up if pressed. "Anyway I'll have a chance to grill her myself on Wednesday, she's coming over for tea."

Katie smiled, she needed to tell Effy straight away. "Well don't scare her too much with your questions or your cooking Mum. Why don't you go into the lounge and watch telly and I'll bring you a cup of tea."

Jenna eyed her with suspicion but rose from her seat, "Ok that would be nice sweetheart."

As soon as she'd left the room Katie put the kettle on and got her phone out to text Effy.

"_We might have lift off! Em is staying over tonight."_

Her phone beeped almost immediately in response.

"_No way, this is far better than we'd hoped at this stage."_

Katie tapped in her reply.

"_I know, and Naomi is coming to ours for tea next week."_

Again she didn't have to wait too long for the phone to beep.

"_That's brilliant. Here's the plan, you collar Emily as soon as she gets home and I'll go over to Naomi's. Then after we've eaten you and I will meet up to compare notes. Deal?"_

Katie poured the boiling water on the teabags and sent back a reply.

"_It's a deal. See you tomorrow."_

She finished making the tea and took it in to her Mum, "Here you go."

Jenna looked up, "Thanks, what are you smiling about."

Katie shook her head, "Nothing much, I just had a funny text from my friend Effy."

Jenna rolled her eyes, "Who's Effy? Honestly I can't keep up these days, there's all these new friends appearing from everywhere."

Katie smiled at her, "don't worry Mum, I think you might be seeing a fair bit of Naomi and possibly Effy in the future. Anyway I'm off to bed, night."

She walked up the stairs and got ready for bed. Just before she lay down she looked over at Emily's empty bed, she couldn't wait for tomorrow to arrive to find out what happened between her twin and the blonde.

_Operation Naomily, we are go_, she thought as she fell asleep with a smile on her face.

* * *

Meanwhile on the other side of Bristol two girls, one blonde and one redhead, lay soundly asleep. The redhead was snuggled into the blonde's side with her head resting on her chest. The blonde had both her arms wrapped protectively around the redhead and one of her legs was resting across the redhead's, providing a further shield.

They both had serene smiles on their faces as they slept.


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Here we are with Chapter 6. It's quite long and covers a fair bit of ground so hopefully that's ok. **

**Thanks for reading and reviewing if you have the time/ inclination, I really do appreciate it.**

* * *

Naomi moved around the kitchen making a cup of tea, she had a free morning and so didn't need to be in school until later. She jumped slightly as Gina entered the room.

"Hi Mum, I thought you were out, do you want some tea?" She asked.

Gina nodded, "That would be lovely, aren't you a bit late though?"

Naomi shook her head, "I don't need to be in until lunchtime so I figured I'd have a bit of a lie in."

Gina smiled, "You probably needed it, what time did you get back last night?"

Naomi blushed slightly, "It was only just after midnight, Rob gave me a lift."

Gina paused, "Naomi, you know I don't have a problem with you going over to Emily's in the week but I'd prefer it if you were back before 12 on a school night. I mean it's not like you haven't seen Emily all day, what on earth do you find to do?"

Gina watched as Naomi's colour deepened, "Er, nothing much, just discussing school and talking about stuff, you know."

They were interrupted by the doorbell, Gina went to answer it and came back into the kitchen with Effy in tow. Naomi groaned when she saw her friend.

"Oh that's really charming; I'm pleased to see you too." The brunette stated.

Naomi sighed, "Well I might be happier if I didn't know that the reason you've come round is to give me the third degree."

Gina smiled at Effy, "About what?"

Naomi coughed, "Nothing much, Effy has got some stupid notion in her head that there's something going on between me and Emily, which is ridiculous. We study, we talk, sometimes we watch a film and Emily stays over. It's perfectly normal for friends to do those things."

Gina looked confused, "Of course it is, although you and Emily do seem very close considering you haven't known each other long."

She stopped and stared between them as she saw Effy give Naomi a meaningful look.

Gina sat down and motioned for Naomi and Effy to join her. "Right is one of you going to tell me what's going on?"

Naomi took a deep breath, "You remember I was a bit upset when I arrived back from Cyprus? You left me and Effy alone to talk about it."

Gina nodded, "Yes, I thought it was boy trouble at the time."

"It wasn't boy trouble; it was to do with Emily." Naomi stated.

Gina frowned, "Did she have boy trouble? For some reason I assumed she's gay."

Naomi rolled her eyes, "Emily is gay Mum and we, sort of, had a thing in Cyprus."

Gina's eyes widened, "When you say 'a thing'?"

Naomi started to get annoyed, "What do you think I mean? We had a fling I suppose you'd call it."

Effy raised her eyebrow, "I thought we weren't allowed to refer to as that?"

"Eff, you're not helping so shut the fuck up." Naomi retorted.

Gina studied her daughter carefully, in the end Naomi grew quite uncomfortable.

"Please Mum, say something." Naomi said.

"Hmmm, well it does explain a lot. I always wondered if you might like girls, apart from Cook there were never that many men around." Gina responded.

Naomi frowned, "I never said that. I met Emily and we had a relationship, the fact that she's a girl is irrelevant."

Gina raised her hands, "Ok, I apologise. You know I hate labels, but there's nothing to be ashamed of if you are gay you know."

Naomi sighed, "I know that but it's complicated. I've never even looked at a girl like that before, maybe I only like boys apart from Emily."

Gina was glad Naomi was confiding in her at last and didn't want to push her, she also knew her daughter well enough to let the subject drop, "So Emily is the reason why you were upset when you got home?"

Naomi nodded, "I'd just left her at the airport and I was pretty cut up about it. We'd both claimed to be at Uni to seem older so didn't swap numbers or have any way of keeping in contact. I didn't think I'd ever see her again, so it was a bit of a shock when she turned up at Parkview on the first day of term."

"I worked out straight away who she was, they were flirting shamelessly Gina," Effy interjected.

Naomi stared at the brunette, "No we weren't."

"So what's happening now, are you having a relationship with Emily?" Gina asked.

Naomi shrugged, "We're friends, we're get on really well and we have a laugh but nothing else has happened. I'm not sure Emily wants it to anymore."

Effy snorted, "Of course the fact that she thinks you're going out with Cook wouldn't have anything to do with that, would it?"

Gina looked at her daughter, "Please tell me you haven't taken him back again? You said this was the last time he'd treat you like shit Naomi."

Naomi shook her head, "No Mum we're not back together, I meant it when I said I'd had enough."

"Good, you know I love him dearly but he's a totally crap boyfriend. So why does Emily think you're still together?" Gina quizzed.

Naomi shot Effy a dirty look, "Well I might have, inadvertently, let Emily think I was still going out with him."

Gina looked confused, "Why would you do that?"

Naomi shrugged, "I dunno, I just did."

"Come on Naoms, tell the truth." Effy coaxed.

Naomi sighed, "Alright, Emily and I spoke on the first day of term and I got angry because Emily dismissed what had happened in Cyprus as a fling and said she hadn't told anyone."

Effy interrupted again, "What Naomi means is she overreacted and let her temper get the better of her."

"Seriously Eff, why are you still here?" Naomi spat at her.

"Come on Naomi, finish what you were saying. Effy is only trying to help." Gina said gently.

Naomi rolled her eyes, "Right, well I got annoyed with Emily and in retaliation implied I was back with Cook. I wanted to make her jealous and I know it was childish, but I just blurted it out. I've been meaning to tell her the truth but I'm scared that I've left it too late and she'll get cross with me and won't want to speak to me anymore."

Gina frowned, "How do you think she'll react if she finds out you've lied and you weren't the one to tell her?"

Naomi groaned, "I know but we've been getting on so well and you know I don't really make friends easily, I don't want to spoil things."

Gina stared at her, "Naomi love, you have to be honest. Otherwise how can anything ever happen between you and Emily? I'm assuming that is what you want?"

Naomi groaned, "That's the thing, I don't know what I want, I'm so confused at the moment. I really like Emily and part of me wants to go back to how we were in Cyprus but I don't want to lose the closeness we have. Maybe it's easier for both of us if we stay friends."

The blonde checked her watch and got up, "I've got to get my stuff together for school. I'll be five minutes Eff."

They watched her leave and Gina leaned over and whispered conspiratorially to Effy, "Me thinks the lady doth protest too much. I'm not sure what they're like in school but they're always cuddling up on the sofa or when they watch a film."

Effy smiled, clearly she had been trying to interrogate the wrong Campbell, "So Gina, do you think anything has happened, you know when Emily has stayed over?"

Gina paused, "I'm not sure. They spend most of their time in Naomi's room so I don't see them much, although I know they often fall asleep in each other's arms. Emily seems like a lovely girl so I doubt she'd do anything if she thinks Naomi is with Cook."

Effy nodded, "Yeah I suppose so. Katie, that's Emily's twin, was saying how much she hates cheaters after her ex girlfriend did the dirty on her. Which is another good reason for Naomi not to lie to her. Katie and I are trying to help them along a bit but until Naoms comes clean there isn't a lot we can do."

They stopped talking when they heard Naomi coming back down the stairs. The younger blonde motioned to Effy.

"Come on then, at this rate we'll be late." Naomi commanded.

"Bye love, bye Effy." Gina said as they left.

Effy waved, "Thanks for the tea, oh and don't worry about Naomi, it'll all work out fine."

Gina watched them leave, chatting easily as they made their way to the bus stop. She was very fond of Effy and knew the brunette would look out for Naomi, she always had. She sighed as she thought about her stubborn daughter. She was a bit annoyed with herself for not picking up that there was anything going on between Naomi and Emily sooner.

She walked back into the kitchen and picked up her phone, the line rang a couple of times before it was answered.

"Hello Jenna? It's Gina Campbell here." She started.

"_Oh hello Gina, is everything ok? Emily's not being a nuisance is she?" Jenna replied._

"No there's nothing wrong and it's always a pleasure to have Emily round. I thought it might be a good idea if we met for coffee seeing as our two daughters seem to be practically joined at the hip these days." Gina said.

"_That's a great idea, I'm a bit busy this week but does next Tuesday suit you?" Jenna asked._

Gina checked her calendar, "Next Tuesday is fine for me, do you want to come over to the house?"

"_That would be lovely. Shall we say about 2 o'clock?" Jenna said before making a note of the address._

"Great, I'll see you next week. Bye." Gina said as she put the phone down.

Naomi might not have directly asked for any help, but it couldn't do any harm for her and Jenna to put their heads together and compare notes.

_I'm sure Naomi won't mind me interfering a little bit_, Gina thought as she cleared away the tea cups.

* * *

The next day Emily made her way towards the library, both she and Naomi had a study period free and luckily Melissa had a class so was never around to bother them. She walked in through the double doors and spotted the blonde sitting at one of the desks staring intently at a book. She paused for a minute to look at Naomi, _she's even gorgeous when she frowns_.

The redhead sighed, _I've got to stop thinking like that, we're just friends now. _

It still made Emily sad when she thought about Cyprus but she had almost convinced herself she was ok with just being Naomi's friend. They had their study and sleepover routine worked out and were at ease in each other's company. She really liked Gina and her Mum was always commenting on what a lovely girl Naomi was. They were very affectionate towards each other and needed very little excuse to hug or chastely give each other a kiss.

_All perfectly normal things for good friends to do_, Emily reasoned. There were times, however, when the hugs were a bit too tight, where she would inhale Naomi's scent and could tell the blonde was doing the same. Times when their chaste pecks on the lips lasted a bit too long and started to get less innocent. Emily wasn't 100% sure that it was a normal friend thing to wake up spooning in the morning either.

It had happened the first night she had stayed over at Naomi's, they had fallen asleep in each other's arms as Emily had said she was too scared to sleep after watching the film. In the morning they had woken up with their arms still wrapped tightly around each other, at first they were both a bit embarrassed, but eventually Naomi had shrugged and said it was one of the best night's sleep she'd had in a long time. Emily agreed and from then on that was how they always woke up. However, they had come to the conclusion that other people might think it was a bit weird so it was probably best not to mention it.

Emily saw Naomi look up and smile as she saw the redhead watching her. She beckoned her over, "What were you doing standing at the door?"

Emily smiled back and sat down, "Nothing much I was just wondering if I have 'stalk me' written across my forehead?"

Naomi studied her face, "Nope, can't see anything written there at all. Is Melissa giving you a hard time?"

The redhead raised her eyebrow, "If only it was that simple. Jesus, Katie and Effy make Melissa look like an amateur. I'm exhausted with the constant barrage of questions I keep getting as they do their good cop/ bad cop routine."

Naomi laughed, "Tell me about it, Effy came round to my house yesterday specifically to find out what had happened when I came over to yours on Wednesday."

"Was your Mum ok with you getting back so late by the way, I don't know where the time went." Emily asked.

Naomi nodded, "She was fine with it, I got a bit of a lecture about trying to get home before midnight in the week. I guess we were having too much fun to notice how late it was."

Emily sighed, "Yeah well apparently telling the Gestapo we were 'having a laugh' is not good enough. They want more details, what did we find so funny? Why couldn't we stop giggling when James dropped his fork? Am I sure we didn't have a quick shag when they all left the room?"

The blonde smiled, "We didn't do that did we? I'd be surprised if I forgot about it."

"Naomi, you know fine well we don't fuck on a school night, that's only allowed at the weekend." Emily replied with a wink. "But seriously, why can't they let it go and believe us when we say there's nothing going on?"

Naomi shrugged, "Effy always thinks she's got her own 'spider-sense' and Katie is, well Katie I suppose. They'll get bored eventually. As long as we know it's all perfectly innocent what does it matter what they think?"

"It doesn't I suppose, I'm just finding it irritating that I've got to face 20 questions every time I glance at you." Emily said with a sigh.

"We could try ignoring each other, not spending so much time together?" Naomi ventured.

A look of panic spread across Emily's face, "Is that what you want?"

Naomi shook her head, "Of course not, I was just suggesting it if the questions got too much that's all. Em, I love being with you, you're one of my favourite people to spend time with."

Emily smiled shyly, "Thanks, I feel the same way about you too. I suppose that means the questions will continue for the foreseeable future. Oh God, the pub is going to be a nightmare tonight, I might not go."

Now it was Naomi's turn to panic, "Don't you dare change our plans because of your annoying sister and my nosy best friend. We're going to the pub and we'll act the same as we always do, I couldn't give a fuck if that means Katie and Effy speculate about our relationship."

Emily smiled, "Ok, how can I refuse after that impassioned plea? Right let's get on with some study. What are you working on?" Emily asked.

"An essay on whether pressure groups strengthen or undermine democracy. As you can imagine my Mum has offered lots of help with this coursework, although it makes the argument pretty one sided." Naomi sighed.

Emily pulled a face, "Well a discussion with me on that isn't going to be much help, I'd just argue for both sides and then let someone else decide. I'd be useless at politics."

"Why? You're brilliant at history so it's not that big a leap." Naomi replied.

Emily smiled shyly, "Thanks that was a really sweet thing to say."

Naomi shook her head, "No it was a really true thing to say, I don't do sweet remember?"

"Well not in school anyway," Emily said teasingly.

Naomi blushed slightly as she leaned closer to the redhead and whispered, "What happened to not judging my behaviour? I've already said if you tell anyone we watched Marley & me and I blubbed like a baby I'd kill you."

Emily held her hands up, "Hey I'm not judging I was a mess too, I can't help it if I think it was cute."

They stared at each other for a while before Naomi broke eye contact, "Yeah well remember I am a bad-ass bitch. I am not sweet or cute, except with you on a Saturday and occasionally on a Wednesday."

Emily blew her a kiss, "Don't worry, your secret's safe with me."

Naomi felt herself blushing again so she coughed and stared intently at her essay as she thought, _see all perfectly innocent, Effy and Katie don't have a clue what they're on about._

* * *

Effy and Naomi walked into the pub and glanced around trying to locate their friends. Effy spotted Katie and Emily and raised her hand in hello. Suddenly Naomi stopped.

"What the fuck is she doing here?" the blonde asked looking at Melissa who was sitting next to Emily.

Effy shrugged, "Invited herself along I expect, she's pretty annoying like that."

Naomi huffed, "Yeah, well she better not get in the way. I want to enjoy a night out with my friends not put up with some stupid bitch all night."

They made their way over to the table and asked if anyone needed a top up.

"We've got a whip actually, so put a tenner in and then you can go to the bar." Melissa stated.

Naomi grudgingly got £20 out and put it with the other money, "Don't worry Eff, I owe you for lunch the other day, I'll get this."

"Cool, I'll go to the bar. Melissa, Katie you can help me." Effy replied.

As soon as they made their way to the bar Naomi turned to Emily, "And she's here because?"

"Sorry, I ran into her as I was leaving school and I couldn't get out of it. Anyway, Cook, Freds and JJ will be here soon so it's not like it was an exclusive gathering." Emily answered.

Naomi sighed, "Yeah but I like Cook, Freds and JJ, she gets on my tits."

Emily smiled, "I know, it's not like I want her hanging around either but hopefully she'll bugger off soon."

"I'll see if I can distract her with something shiny, preferably thrown in the road." Naomi said huffily.

The redhead giggled and pushed her, "Don't be so nasty, what happened to things not spoiling our plans to have a good night?"

Naomi tutted, "Alright, I'll cheer up but I warn you if she gets too annoying I might have to kill her."

"Fine, if she gets too irritating I'll help you kill her ok?" Emily said with a smile.

They were interrupted by Cook placing three drinks on the table, he winked at Emily and kissed Naomi on the cheek, "Alright ladies, long time no see Naomikins."

"Yeah I know but I've been busy studying." Naomi replied sheepishly.

Cook looked at her, "From what I hear you've been spendin' most of your time with red, a boy could get jealous."

Emily blushed, "Sorry, I didn't mean to monopolise Naomi or anything."

Cook shrugged, "Don't sweat it babe, luckily for you I'm not the jealous type am I Naoms?"

"No, and you'd hate to be a hypocrite wouldn't you Cook?" Naomi replied sarcastically.

Cook clutched his chest, "Oooohhhh, that hurt babes."

"The truth often does." Naomi said with a false smile.

Cook pointed at her, "That gives me an idea..."

"What gives you an idea?" Effy said as the rest of them sat down with their drinks.

Cook grinned, "It's 'truth or dare' time."

Freds groaned, "For fuck's sake Cook, not again. We know where all the bodies are buried."

"We might Freds mate, but we now have a whole group of new people to torture. I bet red here has got a few exciting lezza secrets she's dying to share." Cook said motioning towards Emily.

Emily blushed, "I'm not sure any of them are that interesting..."

Effy glanced towards Katie and raised her eyebrow, this was the opportunity they had been waiting for. Katie nodded before saying, "Oh come on, it's just a bit of fun. We should get to know each other a bit better."

"So we all in then? Excellent, who wants to go first? I think it should be one of our new mates, what about you pixie girl?" Cook said pointing at Melissa as the others tried not to laugh.

Melissa shrugged, "Fine by me. Truth."

They sat thinking for a while until Cook said, "I've got one. Have you ever tried cock just to make sure you don't like it?"

Melissa spluttered into her drink, "Fuck, you lot don't waste any time do you?"

Naomi shrugged, "Sorry, I don't know how you play this game but we don't see the point of easing people in. You don't have to take part if the questions are too personal."

Melissa smiled sweetly at her, "It's not a problem. No I've never shagged a bloke, the idea repulses me to be honest. I much prefer the softness of a woman, don't I Em?"

Emily rolled her eyes, "Yeah your problem is that often you prefer the softness of more than one woman at once."

Cook laughed, "Now that I'd like to see."

Naomi hit him, "Not a threesome you prick, like you Melissa always needs more than one woman on the go."

Effy interrupted, "Right who's next? Katie how about you?"

Katie shrugged, "Truth I suppose."

Effy smirked at her, "Are the rumours true? Have you shagged the whole rugby team? At the same time?"

Katie looked indignant, "No I fucking haven't, who said that?"

Effy shrugged, "I'd just heard it somewhere."

Katie huffed, "Well it's a lie ok?"

They all burst out laughing when she added, "I split them into four groups."

* * *

Katie and Effy stood in a huddle at the bar getting the drinks in, they had been round everyone twice and were taking a break.

"Right we've been pretty easy on Emily and Naomi so far but it's time to ratchet it up a notch. We need to ask something really personal that we know will involve them saying something about the other." Effy whispered.

Katie nodded, "Yeah and we need to get one of them to take a dare, I've got the perfect thing in mind."

Effy smiled, "In which case we need to start with Naomi, she'll take a dare next time, I guarantee it."

They took the drinks back to the table and sat down. Effy nodded at Katie.

"Naomi, it's your turn isn't it?" Katie asked.

The blonde shrugged, "I can't remember but ok, I'll take a dare."

Cook sighed, "God you're always so predictable, I think you need something really cruel as a punishment."

Katie interrupted, "I've got something good."

They all turned to her as she announced, "I think Naomi should kiss Emily for one minute."

Cook's eyes lit up, "Shit, why didn't I think of that."

Naomi turned red, "Err..., I'm..., um..., not sure that's fair."

Effy stared at her, "Why isn't it fair?"

Naomi waved her hand, "It was my dare not Emily's, she shouldn't have to get involved too."

Melissa nodded, "I agree, just because people are gay it doesn't mean they want to kiss every girl they meet you know? It'd be totally embarrassing for Emily to kiss Naomi."

Emily had been quiet but now turned to her, "Why would it be embarrassing?"

Melissa shrugged, "Well she's straight and she'd probably be all weird about it."

Cook looked disappointed, "She's right, Naomi would freak."

"How the fuck do you know what I'd do? Jesus, you make it sound like I'm homophobic or something. Why would I have a problem kissing Emily, she's gorgeous." Naomi stated staring at the redhead who began to blush.

Effy smiled, "So you accept the dare then?"

"Like I said I don't think it's fair to involve others but I don't have a problem with it, despite what some people think." the blonde answered staring pointedly at Cook and Melissa.

Katie looked at her sister, "So Ems, you up for it?"

Emily looked at Naomi before thinking, _oh yes, I'm definitely up for it_, "I will if you will."

Naomi shrugged, "Why not, it's only a game right?"

They stood up and moved towards each other.

"Right that's one minute starting now." Katie said with a smirk.

Naomi tentatively moved her head forwards and cupped Emily's face before she pressed her lips on to the redhead's, who had met her half way. _Oh God, it feels good to do this again_, she thought as their lips continued to move against each other. They carried on in this fairly innocent manner until Emily shifted her position slightly and reached up to run her hand through the blonde's hair, pulling her deeper into the kiss. Naomi moaned softly as she felt Emily run her tongue teasingly along her lower lip. In response the blonde moved her own hand behind Emily's head before she gently pushed her tongue inside the redhead's mouth. Emily willingly allowed her entrance and their tongues began a duel as the kiss grew in intensity. The group watched as Naomi began to gently stroke the back of Emily's neck and the redhead ran her hand up and down the blonde's back.

They were so engrossed in what they were doing they forgot about the fact that they were in a crowded pub and oblivious to their friends watching them. Effy glanced around the group most of whom were watching the pair with their mouths hanging open in surprise. Her attention turned back to the couple when she heard Emily moan as Naomi pulled her in closer. She glanced at Katie, who had totally forgotten to keep the time. She nudged the twin and pointed at her watch.

Katie blinked, "Shit, sorry I lost track there."

Effy smiled as she nodded towards the kissing couple, "Don't worry, you weren't the only one."

Katie coughed and said, "Ok guys, you can stop now."

Everyone watched as Naomi and Emily continued to kiss passionately totally unaware that Katie had spoken.

Katie tried a second time, "Emily, Naomi you've completed the dare."

Again they were too occupied to notice. Finally Melissa grew exasperated and she pushed the redhead, "For fuck's sake there's no need to swallow each other."

Naomi and Emily opened their eyes and jumped apart, they both blushed furiously before sitting down.

Cook nudged Freds and JJ, "Fucking hell babe that was totally hot. I'd have asked sooner if I thought you'd be up for it."

Naomi continued to stare at the floor before mumbling, "Shut up Cook, it was a dare."

The blonde glanced up and saw Emily looking at her, she gave the redhead an unsure half smile and was relieved when Emily smiled back. There was an awkward silence until finally Naomi spoke, "So Eff, it would appear to be your turn, truth or dare?"

Effy thought about it, "Well I'm not sure any dare could live up to the last one so truth I suppose."

Naomi sat up and folded her arms, it was exactly what she'd wanted to hear. "I've got one if nobody objects."

She looked over at Emily again and her expression let the redhead know it was a question that would make the brunette squirm. "No arguments from me, go for your life."

_Right Effy, let's see how you like being embarrassed in front of everyone_, she thought before she turned to her friend.

"What's the biggest lie you've ever told?" Naomi asked with a smile.

Effy stared at her, "I'm not answering that, I'll take a dare instead."

Naomi shook her head, "Sorry Eff, you know the rules, once you've picked you can't change your mind. Come on answer the question."

Effy paused, "Ok, I suppose the biggest lie I've ever told is to most guys I've slept with, when I pretend I'm still a virgin."

Katie snorted, "Oh come on, we all do that. There must be something worse."

Naomi smiled sweetly at the brunette, "Yeah Effy, like Katie says. There must be a bigger lie you've told."

Effy narrowed her eyes and stared at her friend before hissing, "This is totally embarrassing. I wish I hadn't fucking told you now."

"Sorry hun, but this is called getting your own back." Naomi whispered out of the side of her mouth.

Effy took a deep breath, "Right, the biggest lie I've told was to Katie."

Katie looked shocked, "What was it?"

Effy blushed, "Well you know when we had that chat near the start of term, in the classroom?"

Katie nodded.

"I lied about how Stella got her limp, she was in a car accident over the summer." Effy said.

"You fucking bitch, you scared the shit out of me." Katie replied.

Effy shrugged, "That was sort of the idea."

Emily looked at her sister and then over to the brunette, "I don't get it? What chat and what was the lie?"

Effy squirmed, "Katie was giving Naomi a bit of a hard time and I wanted her to stop. So I sort of cornered her in a room and threatened her a bit. I needed her believe I'd hurt her if she didn't do what I wanted so I pretended I'd given Stella the limp, because she sat in my seat in English."

Emily began to laugh, "Oh my God I can't believe you fell for that, everyone was talking about the accident at the beginning of term."

"It's not funny Emily, she was really menacing, I was frightened." Katie said staring at her twin.

The thought of Katie cowering in a room as Effy threatened her only made the redhead laugh even more. She looked at Naomi who was smiling at her.

Effy turned to Katie who was scowling at her, "I'm sorry, I only meant to scare you a bit."

"I thought we were friends, you don't do that to friends." Katie said huffily.

Effy rolled her eyes, "We're friends now, we weren't then. Come on Katie, I know it was horrible but can't you just forgive me?"

"What like I should about Tommy Marshall?" Naomi asked with a raised eyebrow.

The brunette turned to her, "I don't know what you mean."

Naomi narrowed her eyes, "So it wasn't your idea to get me to swim in the pond so he could nick my clothes?"

Effy started to blush, "Come on Naomi we were seven and you were my best friend, why would I do that?"

"Hmmm, because you knew he liked me more than you and you wanted to humiliate me so you could get him to be your boyfriend?" Naomi said with a smirk.

Effy's shoulders slumped, "How did you find out?"

Naomi stared at her, "He told me, right before he popped my cherry."

"Hey I thought I was your first," Cook said indignantly.

Naomi rolled her eyes, "Like Eff and Katie said, we always lie about that. So Eff how do you feel now, all you got was to be his 'girlfriend' for a week in primary school, I was shagging him for three months."

Effy pointed at her, "You. Are. A. Bitch. You knew I had a massive crush on him."

Naomi shrugged, "You shouldn't have got him to steal my clothes."

Effy paused before finally smiling, "We're quits now ok? Don't ever bring up Tommy Marshall again."

Naomi laughed, "Ok it's a deal."

She felt someone staring at her and she looked up to find a pair of brown eyes regarding her sadly. _Oh shit, I didn't mean to rub Emily's nose in my previous conquests_, she thought as the redhead looked away.

Katie noticed her twin was quiet, "Right that's enough confessions for now. Let's get another drink. Effy come and help me at the bar again."

Effy smiled and got up, "Ok, does that mean I'm forgiven?"

Katie shrugged, "I suppose so, it was before we were proper friends."

"Right I'm going for a fag," Cook stated.

"I need the loo." Melissa grudgingly conceded.

One by one they left until Naomi and Emily found themselves alone, sat in an awkward silence.

Finally Naomi spoke, "Look Em, I'm sorry about the Tommy Marshall thing, I didn't mean to be insensitive."

Emily shrugged, "It doesn't matter, it's not like you lied to me about being a virgin when we slept together."

Naomi smiled, "You were still my first girl."

Emily smiled back, "So I popped your lesbian cherry then?"

Naomi nodded, "Which is more than I did for you."

"I was totally honest with you about how many people I'd slept with, not that it's a long list." Emily replied.

Naomi looked at her, "I know you were but it doesn't stop me being jealous."

Emily was about to speak when the others started to trickle back to the table, she glanced at Naomi with an apologetic shrug. _Bollocks, I suppose I'll never know what she was going to say now_, Naomi thought with a sigh.

* * *

Effy and Katie made their way back to the table, they had noticed the exchange between Naomi and Emily and weren't quite ready to give up their quest yet.

"I've got a great question for Emily that's bound to stir up some feeling between her and Naomi. Will she stick with truth?" Effy asked.

Katie nodded, "Yeah, Emily never does dare, she hates it."

Effy nodded, "Good, so you suggest it's her turn and I'll make sure I get my question in first."

They sat back down and Katie looked at Emily and smiled, "It must be your turn again Em."

The redhead shrugged, apart from the kiss with Naomi she hadn't really done anything too embarrassing yet, "Ok truth."

Melissa was about to start when Effy interrupted, "I've got a good one, what's the best sex you've ever had and I want details."

Cook, Freds and surprisingly JJ chorused "Good question."

Melissa sat up, "I bet I know the answer to this, was it that time when we were at my Gran's house? I had to shove a pillow in her mouth to stop anyone hearing us."

Emily quickly glanced over to Naomi who was sneering at the dark haired girl, she turned to her ex, "Actually no Melissa it wasn't, funnily enough my memories of sex with you are clouded by the fact you were screwing someone else at the time. Is that truthful enough for you?"

"Ooooh, slap down," Cook said.

Melissa bristled, "So come on then Em, give us the real answer."

Emily started to blush, "If you must know I had the best sex of my life when I was in Cyprus over the summer."

Melissa gasped, "You didn't tell me you met anyone on holiday."

"It's none of your fucking business, we broke up remember?" Emily spat at her.

Effy interjected, "Come on Emily, stick to answering the question."

Emily shrugged, "I thought I just did."

"I think Effy was expecting a fuller answer than that," Naomi said quietly staring directly at Emily.

The redhead looked up and stared back into the blue eyes expectantly looking at her. _I suppose this is one way of finishing the talk we were interrupted from earlier,_ Emily thought before taking a deep breath.

Emily swallowed before starting, "Fine. Katie booked the holiday for me and I was planning on chilling out for a couple of weeks on my own. But I ran into this girl, literally in fact, and we decided to hang out together because we were the only two people under a hundred in the hotel. She was at Goldsmith's uni and was the most stunning woman I've ever seen, I mean totally gorgeous. I'd spend most of the day staring at her, constructing little fantasies in my head and I won't even go into the dreams I had about her. Even though we flirted a bit I didn't think she'd ever be interested in me."

She noticed the lads were enthralled at this point, "Why not? You're hot, if you weren't a lezza I'd have a pop myself." Cook asked.

Emily smiled at him, "Thanks, I think. So anyway, one night someone started chatting me up and she got annoyed. Turns out she was jealous and she did like me back. So we ended up kissing and the rest as they say is history."

Melissa sat with her arms folded, "So what was she called then, this mystery woman."

Emily paused, "Err, Sarah, yeah her name was Sarah from London and she had blonde hair and blue eyes."

Effy smirked, "Sorry Emily, but much as I loved your answer, I asked about the sex."

Emily glanced at Naomi quickly, "Er, I'm not sure I feel comfortable talking about it, it's private really."

Naomi bit her lip, "Come on Em, you know the rules, if you pick truth you have to answer the question properly. What was the sex like and what made it the best?"

The redhead raised her eyebrow, "Ok, if no one minds me being personal, the sex was fucking incredible. It didn't matter where we were or what we were doing, every time she touched me I felt like my whole body was on fire. Sometimes it was unhurried and we'd take hours exploring each other's bodies, other times it was frantic and it was like I was possessed, I had to have her and I'd never wanted anything more in my life."

"So where did you do it then?" Cook asked eagerly.

Emily shifted, "It's probably easier to say where we didn't do it, we couldn't keep our hands off each other."

"Yeah, but you didn't do it outside of the hotel room, you hate the thought of sex outdoors, you always said it would be too embarrassing in case we got caught." Melissa interjected.

Emily briefly looked at Naomi again, the blonde raised her eyebrows, "Actually Melissa, we did it pretty much anywhere, the hotel, by the pool, in the pool, on the beach, in the sea, Christ we even fucked in an alleyway behind a bar once."

Melissa snorted, "Jesus Em, it sounds cheap and seedy, if you ask me."

Emily's head shot round, "Well it wasn't, ever. It was passionate and it meant something, regardless of where we were. So that's why it was the best, because no other sexual experience I've ever had came anywhere close to making me feel like I did in Cyprus."

Melissa shrugged, "Still sounds like your romanticising a holiday fling, let's face it sun, sea and sand always make things seem more exciting."

Emily stared at Naomi, the blonde slowly licked her lips and Emily could tell she was remembering too, "You're wrong, I'm pretty sure it would feel the same if I met her again tomorrow."

Effy looked at Katie and smiled before returning her gaze to Emily who still had her eyes locked with Naomi. "Right, well I think we can all agree Emily answered the question very thoroughly. Who's next?"

Naomi continued to stare at Emily, "Actually I need the loo, I didn't go at the last break."

Emily nodded, "I missed out as well, I'll come with you."

The others watched as they got up and hurried towards the ladies toilet.

Melissa picked up her drink, "That was a bit weird, so JJ it's your turn, truth or dare?"

"I erm, I think this time I'll take a truth, I find it so much easier than a dare." JJ replied.

As they thought about the question to ask Katie leaned over to Effy and whispered, "You're a genius, it worked a treat."

Effy winked at her, "I told you, stick with me Katiekins, it's always fun."

"For some more than others," Katie said motioning towards the toilets and the pair of them began to giggle.

* * *

Naomi pushed open the door and looked round to make sure Emily was still following her. Once the redhead had caught up they both checked to see they were alone. They quickly established there was no one else in the bathroom and Emily pulled Naomi into one of the toilets. It was an old building so luckily the cubicles were separate and totally enclosed.

The redhead locked the door and turned around to face the blonde. They stared at each other for a while before Naomi roughly pressed Emily against the door as she sought out the redhead's mouth with her own. There was no gentle build up as there had been in the bar and Naomi moaned as she immediately felt Emily's tongue enter her mouth and begin to caress her own. The blonde nibbled Emily's bottom lip and heard the redhead moan as she ran her hands through her hair. Eventually they broke for air and looked at each other.

"This is going to be one of the frantic times isn't it?" Naomi asked breathlessly.

Emily nodded, "That's what happens when you have months of foreplay."

They kissed again and Naomi began to unbutton the redhead's shirt. When she had finished she opened it fully before leaning down to kiss Emily's neck and collarbone. Emily sighed and threw her head back to give the blonde more access. She lifted Naomi's t-shirt and ran her nails across the blonde's back before unhooking her bra. Emily immediately took the blonde's breasts in her hands and rubbed her nipples until they became hard.

"Oh God Emily, I want you so much." Naomi said causing the redhead to moan softly as she felt the vibrations from the speech against her neck.

Naomi reached into Emily's bra and released her breast before she began hungrily sucking on the nipple. She repeated the action on the other breast and heard Emily whimper.

"I need you, now." Emily stated.

Naomi kissed her again as she moved her hands down the redhead's body and lifted her skirt, she could feel the heat radiating through Emily's underwear as her fingers traced a path towards their destination. The blonde used one hand to yank the redhead's knickers down and she let them fall to the floor before she entered her with the other causing Emily to gasp.

"Fuck you're wet," Naomi exclaimed as she began to thrust her fingers in and out of Emily.

Emily's breath hitched, "I've been thinking about you doing this to me, a lot."

They continued to kiss as the redhead wrapped her arms around Naomi's neck and lifted her leg so the blonde's thrusts could go deeper.

"Oh Jesus Naomi," Emily said as the blonde lifted her off the floor and she curled her legs tightly round Naomi's waist before beginning to drive her hips forward.

Naomi smiled as she looked into Emily's eyes, the redhead's breath was now coming in short bursts and the blonde increased the speed of her fingers and began to flick the redhead's clit with her thumb, "I know it was supposed to be innocent but I've wanted to do this ever since the first night you stayed at my house."

Emily began to moan loudly as the blonde continued her frenetic actions. Naomi saw the redhead's pupils dilate before she began to tremble in her arms. She pushed her hand hard against Emily and felt her tense up before she cried out "Oh yes,... fuck Naomi, ...oh God."

Neither of them moved as they waited for their breathing to slow. Naomi gently removed her fingers from Emily before lowering her to the floor.

"I knew wearing a skirt was the right decision," Emily said with a smile.

Naomi kissed her, "It wouldn't have made any difference what you were wearing, I'd still have ripped it off."

Emily moved her hands to the blonde's waistband and began to undo her jeans, "Speaking of which."

Naomi let out a low moan as Emily pushed her jeans and underwear down before she started to stroke her.

"I'm not the only one who's been having dirty thoughts am I?" Emily teased.

Naomi bit her lip as she shook her head, "No"

Emily paused causing the blonde to groan, "Please Em, I need this, I need you."

Emily moved them backwards and lowered the lid of the toilet before pushing Naomi down. She reached for the blonde's jeans and knickers and pulled them off before discarding them. She smiled as she heard Naomi begin to pant, "I want to taste you."

Naomi moaned loudly as Emily opened her legs and started to lick her with long, slow movements of her tongue. Naomi leaned her head back and began to rock her hips in time with the strokes of Emily's tongue. The redhead pushed two fingers inside Naomi and heard her moan as the thrust of her fingers joined the increasingly chaotic rhythm they had created.

"Oh God," the blonde gasped as Emily increased the speed and pressure of her tongue as well as the tempo of her thrusting fingers.

Naomi was unable to stop her hips bucking as she felt the initial build up of her orgasm, the feeling was so intense she thought her head was going to explode. She pushed against the walls of the toilet as the redhead continued her actions. Finally she couldn't control herself anymore "Oh shit... I'm going to...Ohhh...Emily."

The redhead pressed herself hard against Naomi as she felt her come, after a while she felt the blonde's legs slacken and Emily looked up with a smile as she saw Naomi laying back panting.

The blonde opened her eyes as Emily sat in her lap and kissed her, "Was it worth the wait?"

Naomi laughed and wrapped her arms around the redhead, "Totally. That's definitely going straight into the 'best sex ever' box. Although I had hoped our first time after Cyprus might be somewhere a bit more romantic than a pub toilet."

Emily smiled at her, "So you thought there would be a first time after Cyprus then?"

Naomi nodded, "It was a certainty."

Emily looked at her watch, "Come on we'd better get back, the others will be wondering where we've got to."

As they were dressing Naomi noticed a frown appear on Emily's face, "What's the matter?"

"Sorry, that was amazing but I can't help feeling guilty. Cook is sitting in the pub while I've just fucked his girlfriend in the toilets." Emily said.

Naomi shook her head, "Don't worry about Cook."

Emily stared at her, "Look Naomi, we've both been cheated on and we both know how shit it makes you feel. Maybe he's been unfaithful to you in the past but two wrongs don't make a right. He's still your boyfriend."

Naomi took a deep breath, she couldn't make eye contact_, here goes nothing_, she thought with a sigh. "Emily, you don't need to feel guilty about being a cheat. I'm as single as you are, so we've done nothing wrong. Cook isn't my boyfriend."

Emily looked confused, "Since when and why didn't you tell me?"

Naomi blushed and looked uncomfortable, "We haven't been together since I dumped him and went to Cyprus."

"What? I don't understand but you said on the first day of term..." Emily said, still looking perplexed.

Naomi interrupted, "When we talked in the reading room I was upset when you said Cyprus was a fling and I thought you were ashamed of me. So in the heat of the moment I stupidly implied I was back with Cook to hurt you. Look I know it was wrong, which is why I've found it so hard to tell you the truth. The longer it went on the more scared I got that you'd be angry."

Emily folded her arms, "So all this time you've let me believe you were with Cook and that's why we couldn't be together?"

Naomi nodded, finally looking at the redhead, _she looks angry_, Naomi thought before she tentatively said "I'm sorry, but I've told you now."

Emily shook her head, "So what? You've still lied to me for months."

"Not lied exactly, just not told you the whole truth. It doesn't change how close we've become, how much I've loved spending time with you or how I feel about you." Naomi stated.

Emily snorted, "Well it fucking changes the way I feel about you."

Naomi frowned, "Why?"

Emily rolled her eyes, "You are unbelievable. I can't trust you anymore. All the time we've spent together has been based on a lie which you knew about but I didn't. You haven't felt guilty when we've slept in each other's arms because you knew there was nothing to feel guilty about. You haven't felt ashamed as you desperately tried to stop yourself thinking a whole host of inappropriate thoughts because you knew you were free to think those thoughts if you wanted to. I didn't know and so I've been beating myself up about it ever since that first night I stayed over your house."

"It wasn't like that, I did feel bad about not telling you. I just thought it might go away the more time we spent together." Naomi said.

"No Naomi, you were prepared to let me believe I was turning into the type of person that I despise, that we were cheating or having some sort of affair. If you care about someone you don't do that." Emily stated in a raised voice.

Naomi stared at her, "Yeah well if you care about someone you don't blame them for your choices either."

Emily stopped, "What's that supposed to mean?"

Naomi shrugged, "I've admitted I was wrong to let you think I was with Cook in the first place and I was also wrong not to tell you the truth sooner. But the fact is regardless of the real situation, you thought I was with someone and you still acted the way you did. You still stayed over my house, slept in my bed and fucked me in a toilet when you thought I had a boyfriend. What does that say about you? Maybe what you're really pissed off about is you're not quite as perfect as you make out."

"You fucking bitch, you're the one who's in the wrong, how dare you try to turn this around on me. I did all those things because I thought you were worth it, only now it's clear that you have a such a low opinion of me I was wrong. I can't believe I was so stupid and thought we had something special." Emily said with a scowl.

Naomi sighed, she knew her comment was below the belt and she was lashing out again, "Please Em, I'm sorry ok? This is worth it, I've never felt like this about anyone before."

Emily shook her head as she unlocked the door, before she left she turned to Naomi and said sadly, "Yeah well it doesn't matter now, whatever this might have been it's definitely not special. Congratulations Naomi, you've finally managed to make this cheap and seedy."

Naomi watched her go before crying out, "BOLLOCKS, why does this keep going wrong, what the fuck is the matter with me?"

She finally came to her senses and rushed out of the toilet after the redhead, _I hope I'm not too late_, she thought as she made her way back to the table.

* * *

Katie looked up as she saw Emily coming back towards the group, she glanced nervously at Effy as she saw the expression on her twin's face, it was like thunder.

Emily reached the table and picked up her bag and coat, "As much fun as this has been, I'm going home. Night everyone."

Melissa got up, "I'll come with you."

Emily turned, "Seriously Melissa, what part of fuck off don't you understand? I'm not interested, not now, not ever. In fact I'm off women for good, they're too much fucking hassle."

Melissa looked hurt, "I was only trying to be nice, I didn't want you to go home alone."

Katie stared at Emily, "You shouldn't leave on your own, do you want me to come with you?"

Emily shrugged, "I really don't care, come if you want to."

She made her way towards the door and they watched as she ran into Naomi, there was an exchange before the redhead stormed off with the blonde in hot pursuit.

Katie picked up her things and said goodnight. Effy grimaced at her before saying, "Call me tomorrow ok?"

The twin nodded and made her way outside. She found Emily and Naomi, still arguing.

"Please Em, I've already said I'm sorry. Can't we talk about this?" Naomi begged.

Emily stared at her, "What is there to talk about? You lied to me Naomi, I can't stand people who lie or cheat."

Katie coughed and walked up to the pair, "Come on you two, there's no need for this. You both want to be together."

Emily snorted, "Not anymore."

"You don't mean that." Naomi said with a frown.

"Oh yes I do, I can't even stand to look at you right now." Emily replied.

Katie placed her hand on Emily's arm, "Come on Ems, give Naomi a break. I know it was wrong to lie about Cook but I really believe she's sorry."

Emily stopped and looked at her twin, "You knew?"

Katie backed away, "Er, yeah, Effy told me a while ago..."

Emily's shoulders slumped, "You fucking knew and you didn't tell me?"

Katie looked embarrassed, "I thought it would be better coming from Naomi. I knew she'd tell you in the end."

Emily shook her head, "Jesus Christ Katie, you're my sister, my twin fucking sister. Doesn't that mean anything to you?"

"Of course it does, I wanted to tell you." Katie replied looking at her feet.

"Yeah, but you didn't though did you hun? Betrayed by two people I thought I could trust, what the fuck is wrong with me?" Emily asked staring between the two of them.

Naomi moved forward, "There's nothing wrong with you, you're amazing. It was me who messed up. Please Emily, I'm really sorry and I want us to be together.

Emily stood up straight, "Tough shit Naomi, whatever I did or didn't feel for you is irrelevant. You lied and I can't be with someone who would do that to me. I don't want to be your friend or your study partner. I want you to leave me alone."

Naomi's face crumpled, "Em, I really care about you. Don't pretend what just happened didn't mean something."

Emily folded her arms and looked directly at the blonde, "Sorry, it was only because I was drunk, it meant nothing."

Naomi gasped as she felt the last bit of hope escape from her body and watched in defeat as the redhead walked away.

"I told you this would end in tears." Katie said before setting off after her twin.

Naomi slowly walked over to the wall of the pub and leaned her back against it. She exhaled loudly before kicking her heel against it in frustration. She jumped when she heard a chuckle next to her.

"You're not goin' to do much damage with those shoes babe." Cook said lighting a fag.

Naomi sighed and pointed to the packet, "Give me one of those."

"I thought you'd stopped." Cook said handing her a cigarette.

"What the fuck is the matter with everyone, I'll have a fag if I bloody well want one, ok?" Naomi said taking the lighter.

Cook held his hands up, "Alright Naomikins, I was just sayin'"

Naomi took a drag and blew the smoke out, "Why is everything so complicated Cook?"

Cook shrugged, "Dunno babe, usually cos we make it that way. We weren't."

Naomi stared at him, "No, you just complicated things with your extra-curricular activities."

Cook looked at her with a twinkle in his eyes, "We could always willy waggle now if ya like? Get together and feel alright."

Naomi smiled, "Thanks for the offer but I'll pass."

"Come on Naoms, you know you want to." Cook said moving towards her.

Naomi looked at him and thought _fuck it, it's easy and familiar_. She didn't stop him as he leant over to kiss her. She responded to the feel of his lips on hers, it was a well trodden path and it felt safe. They continued to kiss but all Naomi could think about was how different Cook's lips felt to Emily's, his were hard and abrasive where the redhead's were soft and gentle. _I can't do this_, she thought, _it's like I'm betraying Emily_. She broke the kiss and pushed Cook away.

"I'm sorry, but this isn't a goer." She said with a sad smile.

Cook looked surprised, "Fair enough, you want to tell me why?"

Naomi shook her head, "You wouldn't believe me if I did."

Cook raised his eyebrow, "Has this got something to do with red?"

Naomi's head snapped up, "What do you mean?"

"The kiss in there was pretty intense, you both bugger off to the toilets for ages and then you have a row that looked suspiciously like a lover's tiff." Cook answered.

Naomi began to blush, "Was it that obvious?"

Cook laughed, "Only to me darlin', but I've known you a long time. I doubt the others spotted anything, well apart from Effy."

Naomi sighed, "Effy knows all about it."

They stood in silence for a while before Cook couldn't contain himself, "Fuckin' hell Naomi, this is definitely a development I didn't see coming. You turning lezza was not on my list of things that might happen, ever."

"I didn't say I was gay." Naomi scolded him.

He held his hands up, "Alright, keep your vagina on. But I'm right, you did shag red in the bogs?"

Naomi reddened, "Yeah, I just fucked Emily in the pub toilets. How classy am I?"

Cook burst out laughing, "Any good?"

Naomi smiled, "Jesus Cook, have you got a one track mind?"

Cook nodded, "Pretty much babe, so, was it any good?"

Naomi rolled her eyes, "It was fucking amazing."

"So was that the first time you've done it?" Cook enquired.

Naomi shook her head, "If you replace Sarah from London with Naomi from Bristol you get a better picture."

Cook frowned until he realised what Naomi meant, "That was you in Cyprus? The best sex of her life. Fucking hell."

Naomi stubbed out her cigarette, "Yep, that was me and now I've blown it."

Cook put his arm around her, "Come on babe, let's go back to yours and you can tell me all about it, especially the sex, I seriously want to talk about the sex part."

* * *

The next morning Gina came down into the kitchen to find Cook sitting at the table drinking a cup of tea wearing only a towel wrapped around his waist.

He leapt up and kissed her on the cheek as soon as she walked in, "Mornin' Mrs C, do you fancy a cuppa?"

"Morning Cook, I haven't seen you for a while, how have you been?" Gina asked.

Cook shrugged, "I've been ok. I missed Naomi a lot but we seem to be back on track now."

Gina frowned, "Look James, I've held my tongue as I watched you walk all over my daughter time and time again. You know I'm fond of you but if you hurt her again I will see to it that there will never be any small Cook's entering this world. Do I make myself clear?"

Cook gulped, "Crystal Mrs C, but we ain't back together. We're just mates cos she's well into red."

"Red? Oh you mean Emily, yes they are quite close." Gina replied.

Cook winked, "Yeah, Naoms was telling me all about it last night, talk about x rated."

Gina poured herself some tea, "Cook, I'm her Mum, I really don't need to know."

"Oh yeah right, sorry Mrs C." Cook said with a smirk.

Gina was surprised as Effy walked into the kitchen, "Hello love, I didn't realise you were here as well, fancy some tea?"

Effy yawned, "Actually can I have some coffee, I didn't sleep much."

Gina nodded and opened the cupboard, "How come you didn't sleep."

Effy looked pointedly at Cook, "Well I had Naomi on one side who wouldn't shut up about Emily and then when she finally fell asleep she was snoring like a trooper. On the other side I had Cook, who decided he couldn't sleep without giving himself some pleasure first."

Cook grinned at her, "Come on Eff, you wouldn't shag me and I had to get rid of my hard on somehow. What else did you think was going to happen when I thought about Naoms and red at it?"

Gina shook her head as she placed the cup in front of Effy, "You poor love, you must be knackered. I'll make some brunch if you're both hungry?"

They both nodded, and said they were starving. About a minute later the doorbell rang.

"Cook be a love and get that will you. I'm busy with the food and Effy looks too knackered." Gina requested.

Cook grumbled but got out of his seat. He made his way to the door and opened it to be greeted by Emily standing the other side. She took in his appearance and a frown crossed her face.

"Come on in, Naomi is upstairs in the shower but she won't be long." He said with a grin.

Emily shook her head, "It's fine, she's obviously busy, I'll see her another time."

Cook looked puzzled, "Seriously, come on in. Mrs C is making brunch."

"Well isn't that just the picture of domestic bliss." Emily said with a sneer.

As they were speaking Naomi started to descend the stairs towelling her hair, "Jesus I needed that, I'd forgotten how sweaty you are. And you'd better get your arse back upstairs and change the sheets. I'm not having your deposits left all over them."

It was all Emily needed to hear and she quickly turned and made her way back down the blonde's path.

Naomi reached the bottom of the stairs as Cook shut the door, they made their way into the kitchen, "Brilliant, I'm starving."

Gina smiled, "There's tea in the pot if you want some. Who was that at the door Cook?"

Cook shrugged, "It was Emily but she didn't want to stay."

Naomi stopped pouring her tea, "What do you mean it was Emily. What here, just then?"

Cook nodded, "I told her you were in the shower and wouldn't be long but she left."

Naomi stared at him, "You fucking idiot, why didn't you tell me straight away?"

"I'm telling you now, what's the big deal?" Cook said with a puzzled look.

Naomi looked like she was about to punch him, "The big deal is that we had a row last night and now she turns up on my doorstep to find you in my house only wearing a towel. Oh Jesus, she heard what I said coming down the stairs. This is a fucking disaster."

The blonde quickly pulled on some shoes and ran out of the front door. She looked up and down the street before sprinting towards the bus stop. She let out a huge sigh as she saw the redhead sitting in the shelter. She made her way over and stood in front of Emily. Eventually she got her breath back enough to speak.

"Hi, sorry I'm a bit breathless but that's the most exercise I've had in years." Naomi said.

Emily stared at her coldly before looking away.

Naomi swallowed, "Em please talk to me, you obviously came round for a reason."

Emily folded her arms, "I couldn't sleep last night and I woke up this morning feeling like shit. So I thought I'd come over as usual and see if we could talk about things. So it was a bit of a shock to have Cook open the door in a towel."

Naomi bit her lip, "I know what it must have looked like, but it isn't what you think."

"Really? So what is it I think then Naomi?" Emily sneered at her.

The blonde sighed, "I didn't sleep with him, well technically I did sleep with him but not in the having sex way. Effy and Cook both stayed last night, we all slept in my bed."

"How cosy, a threesome." Emily scoffed.

Naomi rubbed her temples, "Please Emily, you have to believe me. Nothing happened."

Emily raised her eyebrow, "So how did his, what did you call them, deposits, get on your sheets?"

Naomi looked embarrassed, "According to Effy, he got a bit excited when he was thinking about you and me, you know, having sex. It's gross I know, but that's Cook for you. Why don't you come back to the house and we can talk properly."

Emily shook her head, "I need to get home and I wouldn't want to intrude on your little party."

"Emily I hate the fact that we argued, I always hate it when we fight, it makes me feel awful." Naomi stated.

Emily stared at her, "Ok so suppose I believe you, that nothing happened, then what? What would it be next time?"

Naomi looked confused, "What do you mean?"

"Look Naomi, it doesn't matter what we fight about, there'll always be something. If it's not Cook, it'll be someone else." Emily said.

"So what are you trying to say?" Naomi asked.

Emily sighed and looked at the blonde sadly, "What I'm trying to say is that I don't trust you Naomi, and I can't be with someone I don't trust. Not after Melissa."

Naomi snorted, "But I'm not Melissa, I haven't cheated on you. I made a mistake."

"I know, but I can't be in a relationship where I'm constantly looking over my shoulder, it would drive me crazy. I'm sorry." Emily said.

"What about our studying? What about our agreement?" Naomi asked.

Emily shrugged as her bus pulled up, "Come on let's face it, we were only pretending to be friends to get each other into bed. It wasn't real."

Naomi shook her head as she grabbed the redhead's arm, "You don't mean that. That's not what you want."

Emily extracted her arm and got on the bus, "Sorry Naomi, but like I said last night what I want is for you to leave me alone."

Emily didn't even look back as Naomi watched the bus pull away with a steely determination in her eyes. _Fine I'll leave you alone for now_, she thought, _but let's get one thing clear Emily Fitch, I'm not giving up that easily, no matter how long it takes, I will do anything I need to in order to win your trust._

Meanwhile, on the bus the other passengers tried not to stare as the young redhead sat gazing out of the window with tears falling freely down her cheeks.


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: Hello folks, thanks for the reviews for the last chapter. I'm glad this is still being read and people are liking it. Anyhoo here's chapter 7. Originally I'd planned this and chapter 8 as one update but I thought as I'd not posted on this story for a while I'd split it. The next installement is part written but I'm not sure when I'll be able to finish it so I hope this tides you over. There's a bit of a twist coming up in the next chapter and totally out of character for me I won't leave it hanging between chapters by ending on a cliffhanger and explaining in the following one, it'll all become clear in the same chapter. Answers on a postcard if you've guessed/ can guess what it is.**

**Ch 7 is a bit of a filler with some sexy classroom fun thrown in. **

**So read and hopefully enjoy, if you have time please review as reviews = big grins all day. For those of you who have already reviewed, thank you and keep doing it as it is brilliant when someone takes the time to let you know what they think.**

* * *

Katie and Effy walked into the Fitch family kitchen to find Jenna pouring two glasses of wine while chatting animatedly.

She briefly stopped to address them. "Hello girls, there's iced water in the fridge if you want some squash. This is Mrs Campbell, Naomi's mum."

Effy walked over and gave the blonde a hug, "Hey Gina, I didn't realise you knew Jenna."

"Hello Effy love, yes we've met up a few times now for coffee or a drink. We started because Naomi and Emily were spending so much time together but we've found we've got quite a bit and a few friends in common." Gina replied.

Katie offered her hand, "Hi Mrs Campbell, I'm Katie, Emily's twin obviously."

Gina took her hand, "Please call me Gina, Mrs Campbell feels so formal."

Jenna placed the glass in front of Gina, "I didn't realise you knew Effy, she's becoming quite a fixture around here."

Gina smiled, "Oh we go way back don't we Eff? I've been friends with Anthea, her Mum, for years. She and Naomi practically grew up together."

Jenna frowned, "Gina and I were just talking about Naomi, I miss seeing her around here. How is she really?"

Effy looked at Katie and then Gina before she shrugged, "Look we might as well be honest, Naomi is totally shit, all she does all day is shout at people or mope around like a saddo."

Katie sighed, "Emily isn't much better, she keeps snapping at me and sometimes I've heard her crying herself to sleep. And she's been spending far too much time with Melissa again."

Jenna addressed Gina, "I'm really not happy about that, she really hurt Emily over the summer."

Gina nodded, "I know Emily told me about it over breakfast one day."

Jenna turned to her daughter, "Katie, I know you're fiercely protective of your sister, which is wonderful, but neither Emily nor Naomi has told either of us why they fell out. Gina can speculate but hasn't got anything concrete as Naomi won't talk to her about it."

Katie glanced at Effy, "I'm not sure it's our place to tell you really."

"Please Effy, we only want to help. Is it to do with Naomi not telling the truth about Cook?" Gina pleaded.

Effy sighed as she looked at Katie, "It can't do any harm."

Katie shrugged before Effy looked at the pair of older women, "Sort of. I know Gina is aware that Naomi lied to Emily about being back with Cook, but not sure what you know Jenna."

Jenna rolled her eyes, "Assume I know nothing as Emily is like a trappist monk at the moment."

Effy smiled, "Well when Naomi and Emily met up again at the beginning of term they were obviously surprised to see each other but really hoped they could get together I think. But then Emily called what happened in Cyprus a fling and Naomi lashed out by telling her she was back with her boyfriend Cook. So all the time they were getting close Emily thought Naomi was in a relationship when she wasn't. Anyway, we were all at the pub about a month or so ago and we played a game of truth or dare. As usual it was Cook's idea but we didn't mind because it seemed like a good opportunity to get Naomi and Emily talking about what was going on between them."

"Naomi took a dare at one point and I made her kiss Emily, it was only supposed to be for a minute but they got a bit carried away didn't they Eff?" Katie interjected.

Effy nodded, "Totally, I think it surprised the rest of the group really as Naomi is always so, well straight I guess. Anyway for Emily's next truth I asked her something that would get her and Naomi reminiscing about the time they shared in Cyprus. It worked a treat and they went off together for a bit. That's where Naomi came clean to Emily and told her she'd been lying about seeing Cook again."

"Em was really upset Naomi had lied to her so she stormed off and when Naomi followed her Em told her she didn't want anything to do with her. She was angry at me as well because I knew about Cook but didn't say anything." Katie continued.

Jenna frowned, "Why not, surely your sister had a right to know?"

Effy blushed slightly, "Sorry Jenna but that was my fault. I thought it would be better coming from Naomi, I didn't think it would take her so long."

Katie picked up the story again, "When we got home Em went straight to bed and refused to speak to me. She had a really restless night and I'm sure I heard her crying at one point, so in the morning we had a bit of a heart to heart and she decided to go and see Naomi to talk things through."

Gina suddenly let out an exclamation, "That was the morning Cook opened the door in a towel?"

Effy nodded, "Yeah we'd both stayed over to try to cheer Naomi up but obviously it looked far less innocent to Emily. Naomi tried to explain and I think Emily believed her in the end but by then the damage was done. So ever since they've pretty much avoided each other."

Gina sighed, "That sounds like Naomi alright, she can be so stubborn. I'm pretty sure she'd rather have her fingernails pulled off than admit she's got feelings for Emily at the moment."

Jenna laughed, "Emily's the same, once she's made up her mind about something it'll take a bulldozer to shift it."

She looked back at the two girls before asking, "You don't have to answer this as I know it's...personal, but when you talk about Cyprus and their 'thing' does that mean they progressed past kissing, you know, they slept together?"

Katie looked at Effy, an unsaid signal of agreement passed between them, "Yeah. Things developed quite rapidly in Cyprus but they didn't think it was ever going to be more than a holiday romance."

"What about here? Have they been sleeping together when Emily's stayed over?" Gina asked.

Effy shook her head "From what we can gather they've only done it once since they've met up again and Naomi told Emily about Cook right after that."

Jenna looked puzzled, "But I thought you said Naomi told Emily in the pub?"

Gina began to laugh as both Effy and Katie blushed and looked down, "Oh, don't look like that girls. Your generation doesn't have exclusive rights on being wild you know."

Jenna smiled, "God I shudder to think of some of the places Rob and I had sex when we first got together."

Katie's hands flew to her ears, "Eeeewwww Mum, too much information."

"Sorry sweetheart, I forget you like to think you were the subject of an immaculate conception. So I'm guessing we'd all like to see Emily and Naomi together, I mean properly together?" Jenna said.

Effy nodded, "If only to get a bit of peace. I'm sick to the back teeth of hearing how Emily is so annoying or Emily is so rude when it's obvious Naomi fancies the arse off her."

Katie agreed, "Yeah it's the same story with Em, why don't they just admit they like each other and be done with it."

Gina looked thoughtful, "Isn't there anything we, or rather you, can do to help?"

Suddenly a smile spread across Effy's face, "What's the one thing guaranteed to lower inhibitions?"

"Alcohol?" Katie ventured.

Effy nodded, "And where do you get plenty of free flowing alcohol?"

"At a party?" Katie said unsurely.

"Spot on Katiekins, at a party, or house party to be exact. And guess whose parents will be away this weekend at some bollocks 'relationship counselling' retreat?" Effy continued.

Katie frowned, "Er, yours?"

Effy grinned at the twin, "My God Katie, you're good. Yep, I'm having a party this weekend and then we can work our magic on the reluctant lovebirds."

* * *

Emily sighed as she looked up at the clock, time was passing so slowly she could scream. She looked around the room and realised she was the only one doing what she'd been told to do. A couple of people were sitting at the back of the class chatting, a surly looking boy was listening to his i-pod and a disinterested girl was busy texting. She glanced towards the front of the class and saw Doug wasn't really paying much attention either. She turned back to her books and got on with her reading.

After what seemed like an age Doug finally coughed, "Right that's it you lot, detention's over for today. Please don't let me see you in here again, it's a waste of all our time."

Emily rose from her seat and started to pack her things away. The others had practically run from the room as soon as Doug started speaking. She closed her bag and picked up her books.

"See you Doug, although hopefully not in detention." she said wearily.

Doug pursed his lips, "Actually Emily can I have a word please?"

The redhead nodded and put her books down before she sat on one of the desks.

Doug paused, "There's nothing wrong at home is there?"

Emily looked confused, "Er no, apart from my annoying perv of a brother but that's normal."

Doug paused again, "And you're getting on ok at school, not being taunted or bullied?"

Emily paused momentarily but shook her head as her confusion grew, "No I'm not being bullied."

"Emily we take our students welfare very seriously here at Parkview, I have a duty of care to ask you." He replied in his Welsh lilt.

"Doug why are you asking me all these things?" Emily questioned.

Doug sighed, "Well you joined us with an exemplary record and we've had no trouble with you until now, in fact you were a model student. But this is the sixth time you've been in detention in the past month so I was wondering if anything had happened to send you off the rails."

Emily sighed, she doubted the answer 'I fucked the head girl in a pub toilet and we had an argument. Now we're not speaking so she's finding any excuse to give me detention as a punishment' would really help so instead she simply said, "No nothing's wrong, just a run of bad luck I expect. I don't mind really to be honest, it's quiet and I can get my homework done in peace."

Doug looked concerned, "Well yes you do seem to be making the best use of your time which is also very unusual for detention. But you do realise this is one of the things we have to disclose on your university application, a poor disciplinary record could harm your chances of getting onto your first choice course."

Emily gasped, she had no idea information like that was included. "I didn't realise that, no."

Doug smiled, "Just make sure you don't keep making a habit of it and I'm sure it will be fine."

Emily's head was spinning as she left the room, she knew the blonde was being petty by dishing out detentions but she never thought Naomi would be such a bitch as to blemish her school record as well. Naomi knew how much Emily wanted to go to Oxford, they'd talked about it regularly, even in Cyprus. Tears pricked at the back of her eyes, _how could she do this to me?_

She made her way to her locker and quickly opened it, depositing her books inside. She closed the door and found Naomi leaning against a locker a few down from hers, she had a slight sneer on her face.

"How was detention Emily, learnt your lesson yet?" the blonde asked.

Emily glared at her, "I want a fucking word with you, in private."

Naomi gasped as Emily roughly grabbed her by the elbow and dragged her into a deserted classroom before closing the door. Once inside she shook her arm free. "Get the fuck off me, I could put you straight back in detention for that."

Emily snorted, "What would the excuse be this time, disrespecting my elders?"

"Don't push it Emily, I've already shown I can make things awkward for you but this is just the tip of the iceberg. Believe me it can get much worse than this." Naomi said warningly.

"Are you threatening me?" Emily asked defiantly.

Naomi smiled sarcastically, "And people say you're not that bright. Like I've already told you I can be pretty fierce with people who step out of line and it seems to me you've been doing that a lot recently."

Emily started to count on her fingers, "Dropping litter, which wasn't even me by the way; being late into school, even though I was on time and other people came in after me; not showing the school body enough respect, just because I asked a perfectly reasonable question at a forum meeting. Shall I go on?"

Naomi shrugged, "If you can't do the time, don't do the crime."

"Oh fuck off, just fuck off. This isn't about me doing anything wrong it's about you showing me who's boss." Emily spat at her.

"No Emily this is about me being head girl and making sure order is kept in the school. I can't give you special treatment just because we screwed in a pub toilet." Naomi replied.

Emily flinched, "I don't care what it's about, it's got to stop."

Naomi laughed, "Are you trying to tell me what I can and can't do? Give me one good reason why I should go easy on you?"

Emily sighed, "If I keep getting into trouble it could stop me getting into Oxford."

She watched as something passed briefly across the blonde's face, it looked like regret, but it was quickly replaced with the steely anger again, "Like I said you should have thought of that before."

Emily grabbed her arm, "What is your problem?"

Naomi pointed at her, "You know what my problem is. You Fitch, you are my fucking problem."

"What so you've got to be a total bitch just to show me who's in control?" Emily said her voice rising.

Naomi stared at her in disbelief, "Control? Are you taking the piss? I'm not the one who's in control here, anything but."

"What on earth are you on about?" Emily asked.

Naomi moved towards her and stood so she was pinning the redhead against the end of one of the desks, "If I was in control, I'd be able to force myself to stop thinking about you. If I was in control, I wouldn't want to kiss you every time I saw you." She paused, "But mostly if I was in control, then I wouldn't just be thinking how much I want to push you onto that table and fuck you, I'd be doing it."

Emily stared into her eyes, she could tell Naomi was angry by the flecks of grey that had appeared. She knew this was wrong, that it shouldn't be happening and especially not like this but she couldn't help herself.

"Then be in control." Emily whispered and saw some of the anger in Naomi's eyes replaced by lust.

The blonde placed her hands on Emily's waist and raised her onto the edge of the desk. She roughly shoved her legs apart and stood between them with her hands on Emily's thighs.

"I'm going to show you what it feels like to be out of control." She growled at Emily.

The tone of her voice took Emily by surprise and the redhead was again startled as Naomi took her arms and placed them behind her so she was leaning slightly backwards and thrusting her hips towards the blonde. Naomi reached under her skirt and pulled her tights off, carelessly discarding them on the floor.

"Don't move from that position." She commanded looking directly at the redhead as she pushed her skirt up and roughly yanked her underwear to one side. In spite of her anger Naomi felt herself grow wet as she felt the heat emanating from the redhead.

She looked directly into Emily's eyes and heard her gasp loudly as she forcefully thrust two fingers inside her. She pushed hard inside Emily until the redhead cried out, "Ow, that's hurting."

Naomi withdrew her fingers before thrusting them into Emily again, only this time she didn't push quite so hard once she was inside. She knew she had achieved the right balance between pleasure and pain when Emily moaned loudly. She repeated her actions several times and each time the redhead moaned a little louder.

"Tell me you don't want this." Naomi ordered.

Emily stared at her as she felt the next thrust from the blonde deep inside her, "I...I...I can't."

"Why not?" Naomi said sharply.

Emily bit her lip as the blonde's fingers pumped in and out of her, "Because all I can think about is you fucking me."

Naomi increased her speed, "Do you want more?"

Emily nodded and Naomi pushed another finger inside her.

"Faster?" Naomi asked.

Again Emily nodded, "Yes."

Naomi continued to thrust in and out of the redhead feeling her get wetter each time. She moved the index finger of her other hand and began to circle Emily's clit. She noticed the redhead throw her head back as her moans increased in frequency.

"Look at me." She commanded and Emily moved her head forward again, "I told you not to move."

Emily's eyes widened and she groaned as the blonde increased the pressure of her finger on her clit, "Oh shit."

"Do you feel in control now?" Naomi asked staring at the redhead panting beneath her.

Emily shook her head, in control was the last thing she was "No."

Naomi began to push her fingers harder and faster into the redhead, using her hips as leverage. As she was grinding against the redhead she felt Emily tense up and her grip on Naomi's fingers tighten. The redhead stared directly into her eyes and she cried out her name as she came. Naomi pushed herself hard against Emily and didn't move as the redhead bucked against her while riding out her orgasm.

They continued to lock eyes as Emily's breathing returned to normal. The trance they were in was suddenly broken as they heard a noise outside in the corridor. Naomi quickly moved away from the redhead and watched in silence as Emily smoothed down her clothes and put her tights and shoes back on. The blonde made her way to the door, before she left she turned around.

"I'm sorry and there won't be any more detentions." She said quietly with an ashamed look on her face.

Emily nodded and watched her leave. She exhaled slowly and realised she was shaking. She slumped against the table, _what the fuck just happened? _But she already knew the answer, she had allowed Naomi to take control and dominate her completely, the blonde had made Emily want her so much she was prepared to be fucked in a classroom without any sign of intimacy, like in Cyprus she had let Naomi use her. She felt like a prostitute again and it hurt like hell.

She rose from the table and picked up her bag before making her way to the door. She entered the corridor and ran straight into Melissa.

"Hey I've been looking all over for you, I thought we agreed to meet back at the lockers after your detention." Melissa asked.

"I know but I ran into Naomi and we had a bit of an altercation." Emily responded.

Melissa frowned, "I thought she looked in a bad mood when I passed her in the corridor, she practically bit my head off. Are you ok?"

Emily forced a smile onto her face, "I'm fine, really. It's nothing I can't handle."

Melissa put her arm around the redhead and gave her a squeeze, "If you're sure, you know I'm always here for you. Come on let's go back to your house."

Emily nodded and allowed herself to be led from the building towards the bus stop. She half listened to what the dark haired girl was talking about, usually it annoyed the shit out of her but today she was grateful Melissa was prattling on. They got on the bus and Emily stared out of the window. They had been moving for about 10 minutes when she caught sight of Naomi striding purposefully down the street. As the bus slowed down at a stop they drew level with Naomi and the blonde's head snapped up as if she could sense Emily looking at her. Again their eyes locked until Naomi noticed who Emily was with, her eyes narrowed and she shook her head. Deliberately Emily leaned over and rested her head on Melissa's shoulder and she smiled as she wrapped an arm around her. She glanced over at Naomi and caught the hurt look on her face before the blonde turned and walked away.

* * *

Effy and Katie sat at the kitchen island in the Fitch house and went over some of the party plans again. It wasn't like it was complicated, invite people, get booze, get wasted, shag someone.

Jenna rolled her eyes, "Honestly girls you're acting like this is a massive occasion, it's a house party not some gala."

Katie looked at her Mum, "Listen, we need to talk about this because that's only our secondary plan. Our primary purpose, if you recall, is to get Naomi and Emily together and that means we have to be alert to all the things that might go wrong."

Jenna stared at them, "Like what?"

Effy huffed, "Jenna the possibilities are infinite. What if one or both of them goes off with someone else just to spite the other? What if they get really jealous and storm out? What if they get so trashed that nothing happens?"

"Or what if both of them refuse to go in the first place because they know the other one is likely to be there?" Katie added.

Effy frowned, "Yeah that's worrying me too, and it's not as impossible as it sounds. We're going to have to think of something."

Jenna laughed, "My word, I didn't realise it was so complicated. Effy do you want to stay for your tea?"

Effy nodded, "Thanks that would be good. Mum or Dad has probably thrown mine at the wall by now."

They all paused as they heard the front door slam shut.

"In here," Jenna called. She frowned as she noticed Melissa with Emily. "You're late."

Emily grimaced, "Detention but at least my homework is done."

"Oh Emily not again, that's the third time in as many weeks." Jenna scolded.

Melissa interrupted, "Mrs Fitch it wasn't her fault, it's that bitch Naomi Campbell."

"Hey, that's my friend you're talking about. Watch it." Effy protested.

"Thank you Melissa but I was actually talking to my daughter. What's up sweetheart?" Jenna asked.

Emily sighed, "Nothing, Naomi's been giving me a bit of a hard time but I think we sorted it out today. I think she'll steer well clear of me from now on."

Effy's phone began to ring, "Speak of the devil."

She went into the hall and answered. "Hey your ears must be burning, we were just talking about you."

"_Who's we?" Naomi asked quietly._

"I'm over at Katie's and Emily has just got in from the latest made up detention you've given her." Effy replied smiling.

"_Is Melissa with her?" Naomi questioned._

"Er, yeah I thought I was supposed to be the psychic one, how did you know?" Effy replied

"_Saw them on the bus. How's Emily, I mean how does she seem?" Naomi enquired._

"She seems ok, a bit pissed off with you for the detention and a bit quiet I suppose. Why?" Effy responded.

_Naomi sighed, "Well firstly, she told me today that her disciplinary record might influence whether she gets into her first choice uni. Which is already enough to make feel like a total prick for giving her all those fake detentions. But it's not just that she's pissed off about."_

"What else is it then?" Effy probed.

"_Oh bollocks Eff, can you come over, please, I really need you right now." Naomi pleaded._

Effy paused, "Not until you tell me what you're hiding."

_There was silence at the other end of the phone until a small voice came back, "I've just fucked her in a classroom after her detention."_

Effy smiled, "So you guys shagged, that's good right?"

"_No Eff you don't understand. __I__ fucked __her__. As in it was totally one sided, no kissing, just me trying to make her feel as vulnerable as possible." Naomi said sadly._

"Ah I see, that changes things, but she must have wanted you to do it otherwise she wouldn't have let you." Effy responded.

_There was another pause, "At the time I was sure she did, but now the doubts have crept in. What if...what if I forced her Eff?"_

Effy heard a small sob escape Naomi's throat, "Hey babe, you wouldn't do that. I'll check Emily's alright and be right over ok?"

_Naomi sniffed, "Thanks, I'll see you soon."_

Effy hung up the phone and made her way back into the kitchen, "I'm really sorry Jenna but I can't stay for tea after all, I'd forgotten I said I'd go over to Naomi's."

Melissa looked at Emily, "How come she's allowed to call your Mum Jenna but I'm stuck with Mrs Fitch?"

Katie sneered, "Because Effy's welcome in this house and we like her."

"Oh so I'm not welcome and you don't like me?" Melissa replied.

"Pretty much it in a nutshell." Katie countered.

As they continued to bicker Effy took the opportunity to speak to Emily. "Are you ok? Naomi told me what happened."

Emily shrugged, "I'll live, just another chapter in the screwed up 'relationship' we have."

"Emily, Naomi didn't" Effy paused, "Naomi didn't make you do anything you didn't want to do did she?"

Emily looked at her with a horrified expression, "Jesus Christ of course not. Effy whatever Naomi did it was with my full consent, the fact that I'm pissed off I gave in to her so easily is another matter entirely."

Effy sighed, "So you're not angry?"

Emily folded her arms, "Oh no I'm mad, but mostly with myself. I'm annoyed that she knows exactly which buttons to push to turn me into putty in her hands and I'm angry that as soon as we were alone together in a room I practically begged her to fuck me."

Effy smiled, "Ok that's good because she was a bit worried she'd upset you."

Emily smiled sadly, "She did but not because of how she screwed me it was mostly what she said afterwards."

Effy frowned, "What do you mean?

Emily sighed, "As she was leaving she said she was sorry and wouldn't give me any more detentions."

Effy put her head in her hands, "Oh God, that's one surefire way to make you feel like a whore. Thanks for the shag, your payment in return is I'll go easy on you."

Emily nodded as tears sprang into her eyes, "It reminded me of when we were first in Cyprus."

Effy put her arm around the redhead, "I'm sure she didn't mean it like that, this is Naomi after all."

"Probably not, but it's still how I feel." Emily said with a sniff.

"I'd better go," Effy said.

Emily nodded, "I'll see you out."

"I'll see you tomorrow Katie and thanks for the offer of tea Jenna, maybe next time." Effy said as she left.

At the door she smiled at Emily, "Come on, chin up it could be worse."

Emily looked puzzled, "What do you mean?"

Effy grinned at her, "Well you might have had a bit of a disagreement with Naomi, but at least you got what I'm assuming was a pretty good fuck out of it."

Emily couldn't help laughing as she closed the door "There is always that upside I suppose."

* * *

Effy fidgeted as she waited for the front door to be answered. Before long it opened and Gina stood the other side with a concerned face.

"Hello Effy, I thought you'd be over at Katie's this evening. Come on in." The older blonde said as she moved aside to let the brunette in.

Effy sighed, "I got an S.O.S call so here I am. Is she in her room?"

Gina nodded, "I wasn't long in myself and she thundered through the door and went straight upstairs. What's the matter now?"

Effy shrugged, "Another row, I'm trying to get to the bottom of it."

Gina tutted, "Honestly it's like Romeo and Juliet around here at the moment."

Effy smiled as she went towards the stairs, "I think you'll find that's Juliet and Juliet in this case."

Gina laughed, "I suppose you're right. If you want anything to eat or drink just give me a shout."

Effy nodded and made her way to Naomi's room, she knocked before entering.

"Hi it's me, I came over as quickly as I could after I spoke to Emily." She said tentatively as she made her way over to the blonde.

Naomi turned and sat up, "How is she? I mean is she ok about before?"

"Her exact words were, 'I'll live' so I suppose she's ok but not great. Why don't you tell me exactly what happened?" Effy said.

Effy rolled her eyes as Naomi reddened, "Oh for God's sake Naomi, I don't mean tell me how you fucked her, although I'm sure it was pretty hot. I mean how did it all unfold?"

Naomi took a deep breath, "I saw her putting her stuff away in her locker after detention and I suppose I wanted to make some sort of contact even if it turned into an argument."

"Why?" Effy asked.

"Oh come on Eff, you don't need me to tell you why." Naomi replied.

Effy shrugged, "Maybe I don't, but I think it'll do you good to say it out loud."

Naomi sighed, "Because we haven't spoken in weeks and I wanted to speak to her."

Effy raised her eyebrow, "Well duh. Now what's the real reason?"

Naomi paused before swallowing, "Because every time I look at Emily I can't take my eyes off her, butterflies erupt in my stomach, my palms go sweaty and my heart rate goes through the roof. It kills me when we're not speaking because I can't just gaze at her and listen to her talking or laughing. So I wanted some form of contact, anything, so I could hear her voice again and look at her beautiful face. Better?"

Effy thought for a while, "But why today? I mean you've had plenty of opportunity to make contact in school, you can look at her face all the time, why then?"

Naomi shrugged, "I can't look without someone seeing. I don't know, because she was alone I suppose."

"And that means?" Effy prompted.

Naomi looked towards the ceiling and bit her lip, "Fine, I waited around until after she'd finished her detention on purpose. I wanted her to be alone and school to be deserted because I planned to kiss her. I thought I could start an argument and then kiss her in anger ok?"

Effy smiled, "But instead you got to fuck her in anger, nice plan."

Naomi looked at her, "Effy, I didn't plan what happened and it wasn't all me. Emily wanted it as much as I did; at least I think she did."

"Oh she wanted to happen all right, and boy is she annoyed with herself about it." Effy said with a grin.

Naomi gave her a half smile, "Really? Did Emily say that?"

Effy nodded, "Yup, she's seriously pissed off with herself for giving in so easily."

Naomi snorted, "I'd hardly call a month of ignoring me giving in easily."

"So let's stop changing the subject. Why were you so angry?" Effy continued.

Naomi furrowed her brow, "I think it's because when Emily is around I can't think straight, I turn to mush and I don't like it. She makes me feel out of control and you know I hate not being in control. So I think I wanted to show her what it felt like, for someone else to have that power over you. I fucked her to spite her for having that hold over me."

"Jesus you two really do have a totally screwed up relationship don't you? So when's it going to stop, all the game playing?" Effy asked.

"Hey Emily isn't innocent in this. Don't think I don't know what she's doing by having Melissa hanging round the whole time. She knew I was watching her on the bus so she deliberately put her head on the tiny elf's shoulder to wind me up." Naomi protested.

Effy rolled her eyes, "I know that, that's why I said 'you two' and not just 'you'. Honestly, you're as bad as each other."

Naomi sighed, "Maybe but until one of us breaks the cycle then all of these mind games are going to continue. I'm not sure either of us wants to be the first one to do that, you know to be seen as weak in front of the other."

Suddenly an idea came to Effy but she'd need Naomi out of the way, "Naoms your Mum mentioned something about food if we wanted it. I was going to eat at the Fitch's, I don't suppose you could nip downstairs and sort something out could you?"

"Sure, you must be starving. Do you want to stay over?" Naomi asked.

Effy smiled, "Yeah why not, I mean there's not much for me to go home to is there."

Naomi smiled back. "Ok I'll let Mum know. And Eff, thanks for coming over and the talk and stuff."

Effy nodded, "Hey it's what friends are for. Now go get me some food."

Once she had gone Effy immediately called Katie, "Listen Katie, I don't have much time but I've thought of a plan thatwill get them both to the party without killing each other. Have you got a pen? Ok here goes..."

* * *

Later that night as she was getting ready for bed Emily heard her phone beep, she looked at the clock, it was late so she ignored it.

Katie shifted in her bed, "Aren't you going to see who it's from?"

Emily shook her head, "It's probably Melissa and I can't really be arsed."

Katie raised herself up, "Look Ems, the bloody thing will keep bleeping if you don't open it and I won't sleep."

Emily rolled her eyes and picked up her phone, to her surprise the text wasn't from Melissa, it was from Naomi. She opened the new message cautiously, unsure of what she might find, but as she read the message a smile crept its way across her face.

_Hi, sorry it's so late but this has been driving me mad all evening. I wanted to apologise for today, both in the classroom and what I said to you. I really didn't mean to imply that the sex and the detentions stopping were linked, it wasn't you scratch my back, I'll scratch yours in any way. The reason I was sorry was because I was embarrassed for being so detached like that, it wasn't what I was feeling. I didn't mean to put your university place at risk by giving you detention, which is why it won't happen again. There's no need to reply, I just wanted you to know. Hopefully see you at Effy's party on Friday. N x_

She closed her phone and placed it on her bedside table. "I'm just going to brush my teeth."

Katie smiled and waited until she left before going over to the table and picking up Emily's phone, she pulled out the piece of paper and typed in the message. She pressed the send key and waited until the message had gone, once she was sure it had been sent she deleted it from Emily's phone. She jumped back into bed as she heard her twin returning to the room.

Emily climbed into bed and read the message from Naomi again before switching off her light, "Night Katie." She said sleepily.

Katie smiled, "Night Em, sleep well."

* * *

Across Bristol Naomi jumped as her phone beeped. Similarly to the redhead she ignored it as it was late. Again in a familiar pattern it was Effy who prompted her to look at the message in spite of the phone being on her desk meaning she'd have to get up. Once she saw who it was from the blonde was glad she made the effort. She opened Emily's message.

_Hi, sorry it's so late but this has been driving me mad all evening. I wanted to apologise for today, both my attitude in the classroom and for the way I taunted you with Melissa on the bus. I know you realise how important Oxford is to me and wouldn't deliberately try to sabotage that. As for the bus, there is no excuse really apart from I was angry and I wanted to make you jealous. Effy also said you were worried in case you'd forced me into something I didn't want to do, so I want to be clear that's about as far from the truth as can be. There's no need to reply, I just wanted you to know. Hopefully see you at Effy's party on Friday. E x_

The blonde's face broke out into a grin and she re-read the message before putting her phone down and getting into bed. "Night Eff."

Effy smiled, "Night night Naoms."

Once she was sure the blonde was asleep she picked up her own phone and dialled the number.

"Hi it's me, everything ok your end." She whispered.

"_Yeah, Em is sleeping soundly with a smile on her face" Katie replied quietly. "How about you?"_

"Great, Naomi is fast asleep too and she's smiling too." Effy responded.

"_Ok then I'd better go but it looks like we're all set for the party." Katie said._

"Ready as we'll ever be with these two. Night Katie." Effy said with a yawn.

"_Night Eff, I'll see you tomorrow." Katie replied before hanging up._

Soon all four girls were fast asleep with the merest hint of a smile playing around their lips and a contented look on their faces.


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: I started to write the next chapter and realised it was going to be really long so I've split it. Hopefully I can still do the twists and turns without it being left hanging (I did promise). **

**This story is far more angsty than I anticipated, possibly because I'm not having a great time at work at the moment so I'm taking some of my frustration out on this. But please let me know if it's getting a bit irritating as I'd hate it if people stopped reading because they got bored or hacked off.**

**Thanks for the reviews and I really do hope you're still enjoying this. I will update soon as quite a bit of the next chapters are already written.**

* * *

Naomi stood awkwardly in the corner of the room holding a beer, she'd helped Effy set everything up and music was blaring from the speakers that JJ and Cook had hooked up to the docking station for them. She glanced around, the house was filling up at an alarming rate so word must have got round. Parties at the Stonem residence tended to be big events mainly because of Effy's brother Tony's reputation. It looked like everyone was expecting Effy to take over his mantle and give them a night to remember, or rather a night which was so good that you couldn't actually remember it yourself but could piece it together like an elaborate jigsaw from other people's accounts.

There were a fair few people from school here too which always made Naomi nervous. She was happy letting her hair down with a few close friends but she didn't want to make a twat of herself in front of the whole school, she'd never live it down. She jumped as someone grabbed her waist.

"Alright babes, you look like a teacher at a school disco." Cook said laughing.

"Fuck off Cook, it's ok for you, no one expects you to be anything other than a good time party boy. How can I give detention to people if all they're thinking when they look at me is 'she got wasted at that party and made a dick of herself', I'd have no credibility or authority at all." Naomi replied indignantly.

Cook rolled his eyes, "Jesus Naomi, why don't ya live a little. You're 17 not bloody 70, actually that's probably an insult to 70 year olds. Have a few shots of tequila, maybe a pill or two and chill the fuck out."

Naomi sighed, Cook had never understood her reluctance to get wasted in front of anyone other than a select few people. It all boiled down to the control thing again she supposed, she didn't want to be in a situation where she was out of control unless it was with people she trusted. That meant she only got drunk with people she knew really well and she never did drugs, that was too scary to contemplate. She looked around the room again and heard Cook chuckle.

"Searching for anyone in particular?" he said with a knowing smirk.

Naomi tried to look nonchalant but knew she had failed miserably, it was obvious she was scanning the room for Emily. They hadn't spoken since the classroom 'incident' and text message earlier in the week but on the few occasions their paths crossed they had managed to smile at each other. She hoped they could at least have a conversation tonight, a small step towards being back to the way they were. _Yeah and maybe more than a conversation_, she thought and then blushed, she was really trying not to think too far ahead but all these thoughts kept popping into her brain and she was finding it hard to stop them. She was brought out of her thoughts by a nudge from Cook. She followed his line of sight.

"Cook, that's Katie, you can usually tell by the way she's dressed." Naomi said dismissively.

Cook raised his eyebrow, "I know that's slapper red, but if she's here then lezza red probably ain't too far behind. I thought you was the clever one here."

"It's were the clever one, I thought you were the clever one. Jesus, how did you get into the sixth form Cook?" Naomi responded.

Cook pretended to look hurt, "That's one of the things I really don't miss, ya know that? Always correctin' me."

Naomi pushed him, "You know you love it really."

He winked at her, "Makes me a better man, babe. Oh and I got into sixth form by seein' to Harriet, right little goer she is, couldn't get enough of the cookie monster."

Naomi spluttered, "Cook you can't go round saying things like that, people might believe you."

Cook raised his hands, "I can't help it if women can resist me."

Naomi rolled her eyes and was about to make some sarcastic reply when she spotted Emily across the room, she didn't mean to stare but she couldn't help herself. It wasn't anything to do with what she was wearing or anything like that it was just everything about Emily made her skin tingle. The redhead obviously felt her staring because she paused and turned to look at Naomi, she smiled and gave her a half wave. Naomi raised her hand in greeting back and Cook patted her on the shoulder.

"Right that's my cue to disappear. If you change your mind about the tequila or pills come and find me later." He said before walking off.

"Cook don't leave me alone," the blonde hissed but she realised it was too late. He'd gone and the redhead was making her way over. _Just act normally, be calm and cool_, Naomi repeated to herself.

"Hey Emily, how's it hangin'?" she said in a weird voice as the redhead reached her. _For fuck's sake, what the hell was that? _she thought as she inwardly groaned.

Emily stared at her, "Are you ok? You're not pissed already are you?"

Naomi stood like a rabbit in the headlights, before shaking her head and laughing, "Sorry I really don't know why I said that, what a tit. House parties make me nervous because you tend to know most of the people you make a fool of yourself in front of."

Emily smiled, "God I wondered if some weird hippy friend of your Mum's had inhabited your body."

Naomi shrugged, "Like I said nerves make me do stupid things."

"So you plan to make a fool of yourself tonight do you? This I have to see, so let me know when it's going to happen." Emily said with a grin.

Before she could stop herself Naomi replied, "It'll probably be something to do with you so you'll already be there."

They both looked away awkwardly and started to blush. It was Naomi who turned back first.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to say that out loud. Let's change the subject. So, how have you been?" Naomi enquired.

Emily looked at her and raised her eyebrow, "Before or after you fucked me in a classroom and walked away?"

Naomi flinched, "I thought we sorted that out."

Emily sighed, "Sorry, we did. It meant a lot to me that you apologised, it was big of you to admit you were in the wrong."

Naomi stared at her incredulously, "What do you mean I apologised? You were the one who apologised to me. I didn't admit anything."

"Yes you did, you sent me a text to say that you didn't mean to be so detached when we, you know, had sex and that you were sorry about the detentions impacting on my university application." Emily replied indignantly.

Naomi scoffed, "No I didn't. You sent me a text saying that you really wanted what happened in the classroom to happen and that you were sorry for using Melissa to make me jealous."

They stood facing each other off, each refusing to back down. Suddenly Melissa appeared at Emily's side.

"There you are, I thought you'd abandoned me." She said to the redhead.

Naomi sneered, "What the fuck is she doing here? There's no way Effy would have invited her."

"I invited her, she's with me, sort of like a date. Do you have a problem with that?" Emily spat back at her.

Naomi shook her head, "No, no problem at all, what, or who, you do in your spare time is of no interest to me. I guess that proves you didn't send the text though, I thought it was far too nice for a two faced bitch like you."

Emily found her hand involuntarily connecting with the blonde's face as she slapped her, "How fucking dare you speak to me like that."

Naomi's hand flew up to her cheek and she looked sadly at the redhead, immediately Emily started to apologise but the blonde stopped her.

"I think you've made your point Emily, enjoy the rest of the party." She turned and walked away.

As she was going Emily heard her shout, "Cook, where are you? I want that fucking tequila."

Next to her Melissa has her hand over her mouth, "Jesus Em, what the hell just happened?"

Emily shook her head, "I don't know, it doesn't matter, it's nothing."

Melissa didn't have the sense to stop, "But it can't have been nothing for you to slap her, everyone was staring."

"Melissa, why don't you just leave it alone for once? It was nothing, ok? I'm going to get a drink." She made her way to the kitchen and saw everyone watching her as she went.

_Well Naomi was right about one thing the talking point of the night so far is definitely something to do with me,_ she thought with a sigh.

* * *

Effy was in the garden having a fag when Panda bounded up to her.

"Alright Eff, wizzer party and Tommo is here so I can find him later and snog his face off." The blonde girl said.

Effy smiled, "Sounds like a plan Pandapops."

Panda grinned at her, "So what about you? Have you worked out who your next victim will be yet?"

Effy rolled her eyes, "Jesus Panda, you make me sound like a stalker or a psycho. But no I'm not looking for anyone or anything tonight. Bigger fish to fry."

Panda looked excited, "Like what? I'll be your wingman if you like. I mean I know it's normally Naomi's job but she's not going to be much use is she?"

Effy stared at her, "What do you mean?"

Panda gulped, "Err, I don't mean to tell tales or anything..."

"Spit it out Panda." Effy said.

Panda sighed, "Well after she had the argument with Emily..."

"What argument with Emily?" Effy asked.

"I dunno, she was chatting with Emily and then they started to argue and Emily slapped her. After that she found Cook and started doing tequila shots." Panda filled her in.

A look of panic crossed Effy's face, "Did anyone else see her fighting with Emily?"

Panda nodded, "Everyone in the room was staring at them."

"Oh fuck this is bad, really bad. Naomi will freak if she thinks people are talking about her. And she's doing shots of tequila?" Effy said.

Again the blonde girl nodded, "I think she might have taken a pill as well, I saw Cook giving it to her."

Effy stubbed out her cigarette, "Shit Panda, I need to find her straight away and I need to get Katie."

"I think I saw her grinding against some random lad in the lounge." Panda told her.

A flash of irritation passed across Effy's face, "That figures, selfish cow."

They made their way back into the house and looked for Naomi and Katie. Naomi was nowhere to be seen but sure enough Katie was in the middle of the lounge dancing with some guy. She was moving incredibly suggestively and most of the room was watching.

Effy walked straight up to her and roughly pulled her away, "Katie, a word please."

"Fucks sake Eff, I'm busy with..." she paused, "what's his face there." Katie continued with a scowl.

Effy sneered at her, "You do realise you're making a total show of yourself, no wonder you have the reputation you do."

Katie pulled her arm away, "What the fuck is that supposed to mean?"

"You know exactly what it means, if you behave like a slapper people will call you a slapper." Effy replied.

Katie stared at her, "What is wrong with you?"

Effy paused and stared at her, she shook her head before continuing, "Remember why we had this party in the first place? You were supposed to be keeping an eye on them while I went for a fag. Did you realise that while you were dry humping some bloke they'd had a fight and now Naomi is off her tits somewhere and God knows where Emily is?"

Katie sobered immediately, "Sorry I forgot, I just got a bit carried away. So what do we need to do?"

Effy calmed down a bit, "I shouldn't have been so long in the garden. We need to find Naomi to make sure she doesn't do anything stupid. She's been doing shots and she's had a pill. Naomi never takes drugs because the effect they might have scares the shit out of her. Then we need to make sure Emily is ok too, she's with Melissa and God only knows how she might take advantage if Emily is a bit wasted. We should probably split up."

Katie shook her head and took Effy's hand, "No, we'll work better as a team. Right Naomi's not in here so let's start in the garden and work our way around."

"Ok, sounds like a plan." Effy smiled at her as they made their way back outside.

* * *

Meanwhile Emily stood on the landing doing a little dance. She was desperate for the loo but they were all occupied, she had been waiting outside the bathroom for some time now but it was the only one without a massive queue. _I don't care what anyone says, I'm next in, _she thought as she continued to jog on the spot.

Suddenly she heard a loud moan coming from the other side of the door accompanied by a woman's voice, "Oh that feels good."

Then she heard a familiar voice replying. _Oh Christ, don't let this be happening_, she thought.

"I told you I was goin' to fuck you good and proper. They all come to the cookie monster in the end." Cook said.

_This is all I need, desperate for a piss and now having to listen to Cook shagging. Looking on the bright side at least it's not Naomi in there_. Emily thought as she crossed her legs.

Suddenly the door started to rattle as someone was pushed against it and the woman began to grunt loudly, "Fuck me Cook, oh yeah, yeah, fuck me baby."

"Squeeze my balls, come on babe, squeeze them, that's right." Cook responded.

Emily buried her face in her hands, this was excruciating and if she wasn't so desperate for the loo she'd be long gone. She heard a loud groan and sighed with relief, at least they'd be out soon. She watched as the door opened and a woman she didn't know came out adjusting her clothing, she had blonde hair and looked a bit like Naomi if you squinted hard enough.

"Cheers lover, that was fun. We'll have to do it again sometime." She said in a thick Bristol accent.

Cook winked at her, "Anytime babe, anytime."

Emily quickly shoved him out of the way, "Move, I've been waiting ages."

"Woah there red..." he started as the door was slammed in his face.

After a few minutes the toilet flushed and Emily came out of the bathroom drying her hands.

"Better?" Cook asked with a smile.

Emily blushed and nodded, "Sorry my bladder was about to burst. I didn't mean to listen."

Cook raised his eyebrows, "Doesn't worry me babe, if I knew you were outside I'd have asked you to join us. A bit of girl on girl muff diving always makes me horny, especially if I can fuck one of them at the same time."

Emily grimaced at him, "Do you always have to be so vile?"

Cook studied her, "You don't think much of me do ya?"

Emily paused and thought carefully about her reply.

Cook laughed, "If it requires that much thought then I don't think the answer is a good one."

Emily shook her head, "Actually what I was thinking was that I really wanted to not like you, but I can't help it, you have a certain infectious charm which is difficult to hate."

"Why did you not want to like me?" Cook asked interestedly.

Emily shrugged, "I'm not sure."

Cook paused and tilted his head to look at her, "Come on red, you can do better than that. Was it because you thought I was back with Naomi after I cheated on her?"

Emily looked shocked, she didn't realise Cook knew about her and Naomi, "Why would that bother me?"

Cook laughed, "Listen red, you can try the innocent act with everyone else but it won't work on me. I know she's the girl from Cyprus, I know you fucked in the pub toilets that night and I know you've hardly spoken to each other since."

"How do you know?" Emily asked.

Cook shrugged, "I've know Naomi a long time so I guessed part of it from the way you both were acting. Naoms filled in the gaps for me. So is that why you wanted to hate me, cos you were jealous?"

Emily's sighed, if Naomi had confided in Cook then maybe she could too, "It's partly because I was jealous of you having a relationship with her, but also because I thought you were a dick for cheating on her, I couldn't understand why anyone would hurt her like that."

Cook looked uncomfortable, "Yeah, well I am a bit of a dick and I'm not proud of the fact I hurt her but something had to give."

"What do you mean?" Emily said.

Cook took her arm and moved her to a deserted corner, "Look if I tell you something you can't tell anyone else ok? I'm trusting you to keep this a secret."

Emily looked unsure, "Cook if this is some kind of joke I'll kill you."

Cook shook his head, "It's not, I promise, but you wanted to know why I cheated. You know my reputation right? I'm Cook, I couldn't give a fuck either, Jack the lad, love 'em and leave 'em all that stuff?"

Emily nodded.

"Well it might surprise you but I do give a fuck about some things and Naomi is one of them. I really love her." Cook continued.

Emily looked surprised, "So why did you keep cheating on her?"

Cook sighed, "I'm getting to that but it's complicated. We've known each other for years, I helped her out a lot when her Dad walked out and we've always been really close. So it seemed natural for us to start going out with each other but in a lot of ways it was a mistake. I mean don't get me wrong the sex was great, you'll know all about how good she is in the sack."

A mixture of emotions passed through Emily, at first she was jealous at the thought of anyone else being with Naomi but this was quickly replaced by pictures of the blonde naked and writhing beneath her as they had sex. She turned bright red and coughed.

Cook laughed, "Don't worry I picture the pair of ya at it all the time too."

Emily hit him, "Well don't. You were saying?"

Cook winked at her, "Where was I? Oh right, so we got together and bumbled along for a couple of years but most of the time we were more like brother and sister really, or rather Naomi treated me more like her brother. She loves me a lot but not in the way I want her to, not in the way I love her. Her heart was never really in it."

"Oh Cook, I'm really sorry. I didn't realise you were in love with her, I don't think Naomi knows either." Emily said.

Cook smiled ruefully, "She knows, on some level she's always known even if neither of us acknowledged it. But it doesn't matter I'll get over it eventually. The point is we could have carried on like that, it wasn't bad, in fact it was pretty good most of the time. But it was safe and secure, it was never going to turn her world upside down. She wouldn't have ended it so I thought I'd better do something before we woke up one day, 30 years down the line and wondered where our lives had gone. So I cheated on her, I thought it might shock her into finishing with me. It worked at first but then she forgave me. So I did it again, and again. But every time she took me back."

"Why did she keep taking you back? I mean she's a beautiful, intelligent, strong independent woman, why did she put up with being treated like shit?" Emily asked

"I was like her security blanket, apart from Effy and Gina I've been the one constant in her life. Each time we broke up she'd go off the rails a bit, drink too much, shag around. I think it scared her so she came back to what she knew. Oh come on red, don't look so disapprovin' " Cook said.

Emily stopped frowning, "Sorry, it's not disapproval, the thought of her shagging around makes me jealous. But Naomi's a big girl, she's free to do whatever she wants."

Cook stared at her before he shook his head, "Except she ain't anymore is she?"

Emily looked confused, "How do you mean?"

"She's not free anymore, not since she met you. Christ, I've seen the way she looks at you, and I know exactly what it means because I've spent so long wishing she'd look at me like that. You're the one who's turned her world upside down." Cook replied.

"Really?" Emily said with a shy smile.

Cook nodded, "She's crazy about you, won't shut up about how fantastic you are. It's pretty annoying, especially if you're in love with her yourself."

Emily frowned, "That must be really hard for you."

Cook shrugged, "It is a bit but I want her to be happy, if it's you and not me that makes that happen then how can I object?"

Emily sighed, "We don't seem to be making each other happy at the moment. I slapped her earlier."

Cook chuckled, "Yeah, she told me about that. Naoms got pretty wasted afterwards. Why don't we go and find her and you can apologise."

As they made their way to the stairs Emily stopped and kissed him lightly on the cheek, "Thanks Cook, I know that can't have been easy for you and don't worry I won't tell anyone."

He grinned at her, "If you really want to thank me you could let me watch you fuck Naomi, maybe even join in?"

Emily rolled her eyes and pushed him, "I knew it wouldn't be long before the other Cook made his reappearance."

Cook laughed, "So that's a maybe?"

"No Cook, it's a resounding never in a million years." Emily smiled as they walked downstairs.


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: Hello, I said I would try to update fairly quickly so here it is. I also said I wouldn't leave things hanging between chapters but I might have lied a bit about that. As I wrote this in one go and then split it into three the next chapter isn't far off but it needs a bit of re-writing and editing so hopefully it will be up in the next couple of days.**

**Thanks to everyone reading this and special big hugs thanks to all the great people who have left a review. I was a bit down when I posted the last chapter but reading your comments has lifted me no end.**

**Hope you enjoy it and chapter 10 will follow shortly.**

* * *

Katie stared at Effy in horror, "What the hell are we going to do?"

Effy shook her head and there was a stony expression on her face, "I don't know, we tried to stop her but I don't fancy getting hit again, do you?"

"Not really but we've got to try something, she's going to go mental tomorrow." Katie replied.

They paused as Emily and Cook walked up to them.

"Where the fuck have you been? We've been looking all over." Katie said angrily.

Emily looked taken aback, "I went to the bathroom and then I was talking to Cook. Why were you looking for me?"

Effy sighed and pointed towards the middle of the room. Emily followed her finger and gasped as she saw what they were looking at. Naomi was in the centre of the makeshift dance floor twirling around with her arms waving wildly in the air. Suddenly she stopped and focused on a girl with dark curly hair that Emily vaguely knew from school.

"You, come and dance with me." Naomi slurred pointing at the dark haired girl.

The girl looked unsure so Naomi continued, "I know you from Parkview. I am head girl and that means I'm the boss, you have to do what I say."

The girl smiled shyly and made her way over to the blonde who immediately wrapped her arms around her neck and began to grind against her in time to the music. Naomi seemed to be oblivious to the stares she was getting from most of the room.

"Why didn't you stop her? You know she hates the thought of getting wasted in front of everyone." Emily said to Effy.

Effy snorted, "We tried, but she swore at us both and shoved us away. She wasn't having any of it. This was all while you were having your cosy chat by the way."

"Don't fucking start on me, if I was here I'd have had a bloody better go at stopping her making a fool of herself than you two." Emily replied angrily.

Cook began to laugh, "Come on leave her alone, she looks like she's having fun for once."

Emily looked in back towards the dancing pair and she gasped as the girl leaned towards Naomi and kissed her, the blonde seemed surprised at first but soon didn't look like she was objecting much. They stopped kissing and the girl said something to Naomi, who threw her head back and laughed.

Emily turned to Cook, "Don't think you're getting away without any blame either, you were the one who gave her the pill in the first place."

Cook held his hands up, "Hey, Naoms insisted, there's not much I could have done to prevent it."

Melissa walked over to the group, "My God, when Naomi lets her hair down she really goes for it doesn't she?"

"Shut up Melissa, it's not funny. Naomi will be horrified tomorrow." Emily snapped.

Melissa shrugged, "She's only having a good time at a party. Most people are relieved she's not behaving like a bloody robot for a change and she's human after all."

Emily scowled at her, "That's not the point, Naomi is going to freak and she'll be pissed off with all of us if we stand here and let her make a tit of herself."

Melissa looked at her with a confused expression, "Jesus Em, steady on. I thought you two weren't even speaking so what's it got to do with you? You almost sound jealous."

Effy, Cook and Katie all stared at each other with a slight smile.

"I'm not fucking jealous, why would I be jealous? I'm trying to be a good friend and I'm putting a stop to this once and for all." Emily stated as she went towards the blonde.

Naomi didn't notice her approach as she now had her head resting on the dark haired girl's shoulder so Emily tapped her on the arm. The blonde ignored Emily at first so she touched her again, this time slightly harder.

"Ow, what was that for?" Naomi said as she turned to see who had prodded her. When she finally focused on Emily a smile appeared on her face. She nudged the girl she was dancing with.

"Look, it's my good friend Emily. Uh oh, she looks cross." She said with a giggle.

"Naomi, stop this. You're totally embarrassing yourself not to mention her." The redhead said pointing at the other girl.

Naomi frowned, "What is everyone's problem? I thought you'd all be happy that I'm having some fun for once."

Emily rolled her eyes, "I doubt you'll see it like that tomorrow."

Naomi shook her head, "God Emily lighten up ok? By the way have you two met? Emily this is Sophia, Sophia meet Emily."

Sophia backed away slightly as the redhead turned to her with a scowl "Hey Emily, I've seen you at school."

Emily calmed down a bit and nodded, "Yeah I've seen you around too. Sorry about her, she's a bit wasted."

Sophia smiled, "I sort of worked that out."

Naomi stood with her hands on her hips, "Err, hellloooo. I am still here you know. Em, just bugger off and let me dance with the lovely Sophia here."

She turned back to the blonde, "I'm not leaving until you stop behaving like an arse and come with me."

"What's the matter Em? Are you jealous? She's really pretty don't you think and she's a very good kisser." Naomi said with a smug smile.

Sophia stared at the pair of them, she was starting to feel uncomfortable, she looked at Emily, "Look I'm sorry, I didn't realise she had a girlfriend."

Emily looked shocked, "I'm not her girlfriend and will people stop telling me I'm jealous when I'm not."

Naomi snorted, "You are a bit, just admit it."

Emily sighed of course she was fucking jealous but she wasn't about to admit that in front of a crowded room, especially now someone had turned the music down and everyone was staring at them as they listened to the conversation.

She looked at the blonde pointedly, "Naomi, you can kiss anyone you want, male or female. I just don't want you to make a fool of yourself and be mortified when you wake up tomorrow, especially if you don't wake up alone."

Naomi smirked at her, "Hmmm, is that an offer Em?"

Emily sighed exasperatedly, "Look I give up, do what the fuck you like ok? But don't blame me when you feel like crap tomorrow and are dying of embarrassment. I'm sick of trying to be your friend and having it thrown back in my face."

"At least I didn't slap you." Naomi said quietly.

Emily started to blush, "I'm sorry I did that, I shouldn't have hit you. But you make me so angry sometimes I could scream."

Naomi and Emily continued to stare at each other, neither of them blinking. Naomi bit her lip as she glanced down at Emily's mouth and Katie nudged Effy as she saw her twin gently lick her own lips in response.

"Do you think they realise how obvious they're being?" she whispered quietly to the brunette.

Effy shook her head, "They never think they're giving anything away but you've only got to look at their body language to see how much they fancy each other."

Although she hadn't heard the exchange between Katie and Effy Melissa was staring at Naomi and Emily with a strange expression on her face.

She leaned towards the brunette, "Is there something going on between those two?"

Effy shrugged, "Doubt it, Naomi's not gay remember. Why?"

"Well they look like they either want to punch each other or screw each other and I can't work out which one." Melissa replied.

Katie snorted, "I think it's the former. Oh no, I think they might have worked out everyone is staring at them."

Sure enough Naomi broke eye contact with the redhead and stared around them, finally focusing on the room. She coughed and started to turn red as she became aware of the looks the pair of them were getting. She briefly glanced at Emily again who had a strange expression on her face.

"Well you said you wanted to see me make a fool of myself, so there you go, ringside seats." Naomi said in an embarrassed tone.

Emily sighed, "Naomi..." but the blonde simply turned and walked out of the room.

Cook clapped his hands together before saying loudly, "Come on folks, show's over. Let's get the music back on and enjoy the rest of the night."

* * *

Naomi stood at the sink in the kitchen shaking slightly, she couldn't believe what had just happened but it was enough to suddenly make her feel very sober. She groaned, the fact that she'd thrown herself at that poor Sophia girl in front of everyone was bad enough but once you'd added flirting with Emily into the mix, the situation became a reputational disaster. She'd made a total arse of herself and she'd never live it down at school.

_I can't face Emily ever again,_ she thought before she shook herself, who was she trying to kid? They couldn't help it, the sexual tension between them was obvious. Emily Fitch was a drug and Naomi was addicted. It had taken all her strength not to kiss the redhead in the lounge. They were staring intensely at each other and Emily had licked her lips. All Naomi could think about was how much she wanted to feel and taste those lips again. She could tell from the look in Emily's eyes that she was thinking the same thing. That was why she broke eye contact and left the room. If she had stayed she wasn't sure she could have stopped herself pushing Emily onto the floor and fucking her right there.

She chuckled to herself, _now that would definitely have got people's attention_.

She jumped as someone poked her in the ribs, she turned around to find Cook smiling at her.

"Alright blondie, kissed any other girls since the lounge?" He asked.

"Shhhh, Cook. Don't say that so loudly. Everyone will think I'm gay." Naomi hissed.

Cook raised his eyebrow, "And aren't you?"

Naomi sighed, "Not here, come on."

She grabbed a bottle of tequila and led him out to the garden where she handed him a fag. He lit it and patiently waited for her to continue while taking a swig from the bottle.

Naomi paused before staring him with an unsure look, "I didn't really feel anything when I kissed Sophia, no excitement, no tingles. Nada. I might as well have been kissing my Mum."

Cook snorted, "Not like that I hope."

Naomi smiled as she downed some more tequila, "Obviously not like that, but you know what I mean. If I was gay, wouldn't I have enjoyed it more?"

Cook thought for a minute, "Not necessarily, maybe you didn't fancy her."

Naomi shrugged, "Why not? She's pretty and funny, she seemed to like me. I mean I didn't want to rip her clothes off but you'd think I'd at least fancy her enough to feel something when we kissed."

Cook smiled at her, "You don't really need me to answer that do you?"

Naomi looked confused, "What do you mean?"

"Oh come on Naoms, you know exactly why you didn't feel anything." Cook said with a chortle.

"No I don't, which is why I asked you dickhead." Naomi replied.

Cook stared at her, "You really don't get it?"

The blonde shook her head. She was surprised as Cook leaned over and kissed her, she tried to move away but he held her tightly. After a while he pulled away.

"Bet ya didn't feel a thing then did ya?" he asked.

Naomi thought back to the kiss and realised he was right, she hadn't felt anything. She'd spent years with Cook and slept with him tons of times so she must have been attracted to him. Why didn't she feel anything now? She leaned over and captured his lips with hers again, this time she was determined to concentrate on what she was thinking and feeling. They kissed and her mind went blank. Except that wasn't strictly true, there was one thought which wouldn't go away and the realisation of what it was hit her like a brick. She pulled away quickly and Cook could see from her face that she'd worked it out.

"Well?" he gently coaxed.

"All I could think about was Emily and how you weren't her." Naomi said quietly.

Cook grinned, "See, I told ya it was obvious. It's a good job you hate labels cos I don't think it matters what you call yourself, gay, bi or straight because it seems to me that red has spoilt ya for everyone else. If it ain't her from now on you probably won't get excited about anyone."

Naomi held her head in her hands and groaned loudly, "For fucks sake Cook, how could this have happened to me? I'm Naomi fucking Campbell, I'm a hard bitch who doesn't need anyone. You know how long it took me to build that 'couldn't give a fuck' reputation, and now she comes along and after five minutes it's in tatters."

Cook shrugged, "Sorry darlin' but it looks like you're a one woman girl from now on."

Naomi grabbed the tequila bottle and took a massive swig, "Have you got any more pills?"

Cook nodded, "I'm not sure I should give you any though, they're stronger than the last lot."

Naomi took another long drink, "Give me the fucking pill Cook. My love life is so complicated I may never have sex again and if everyone is going to be talking about me making a prick of myself on Monday I might as well go the whole hog and do it properly."

Cook shrugged his shoulders as he handed her the pill, "Alright but don't say I didn't warn ya."

Naomi swallowed it whole and washed it down with the tequila, "Cheers granddad, I bear your wise words in mind."

* * *

Emily was standing in the kitchen chatting to Melissa, or rather she was listening and grunting as the dark haired girl fired questions at her. Luckily Emily was getting progressively more drunk because Melissa was really starting to get on her nerves and she wasn't sure she could stop herself being rude if she were sober.

Emily sighed "For the last time Melissa, there's nothing going on between me and Naomi. We're friends, that's all and we happen to have fallen out at the moment which is why things are a bit tense."

"So what did you fall out about then?" Melissa questioned.

Emily rolled her eyes, "It's none of your business."

Melissa moved her hands onto her hips, "Look Em, if we're going to get back together you need to be honest with me."

Emily stared at her, "Who said anything about us getting back together?"

"Oh come on Emily, if you don't want us to get back together why have you been spending all of your time with me? Why did you describe us coming to this party as a date earlier?" Melissa asked accusingly.

Emily seriously didn't want to answer that question so she glanced over to Katie on the other side of the room and mouthed, "Help me."

She was relieved when both her twin and Effy came over.

"Everything ok Ems?" Katie asked.

Emily nodded and took another sip of her drink, "Yeah it's fine, I just thought we could hang out a bit you know. I've hardly seen you all night."

"Err, I thought we were having a conversation?" Melissa said pointedly to Emily.

Emily shrugged, "Sorry I thought you'd finished."

Effy hid her smile as the dark haired girl huffed, "Have you seen Naomi anywhere?"

Emily shook her head, "She's probably avoiding me. I thought she was going to kill me when she realised everyone was watching us."

"She looked like she was going to kiss you, not kill you," Katie muttered quietly so Melissa didn't hear.

Emily began to blush, so it wasn't just her then. Katie thought the blonde wanted to kiss her as well. Emily wasn't quite sure how she stopped herself from grabbing Naomi and shoving her tongue down her throat but in the end it was the blonde who'd walked away. Emily hadn't seen her since.

As if on cue the back door opened and Naomi came bounding in followed closely by Cook who had hold of her hand. Emily's heart sank, _I really hope they didn't do anything while they were out there, Naomi seems to be really happy now_.

The blonde walked over and grinned at them, "Hey everyone, where have you all been?"

Effy smiled back before saying slowly, "We've been in here, you're the one who disappeared."

Naomi giggled, "Oh yeah, I've been outside with my mate Cook. He's lovely and he gave me drugs and tequila, so now I feel all happy and floaty."

Even though she was a bit pissed herself Emily shot Cook a dirty look, "She's taken more drugs, what did I tell you after last time?"

Naomi reached over and put her arm around the redhead before gently tapping her on the end of her nose "Don't worry Emsie, I'm a big girl and can look after myself."

"Er, excuse me, but only her family are allowed to call her that." Melissa interjected.

Naomi squeezed Emily, "She won't mind me calling her that, we have a special relationship don't we Ems?"

Emily stared into the blue eyes for any sign that the blonde was being sarcastic or cruel but Naomi was looking at her tenderly with a big grin on her face.

"I'm only trying to look out for you because I care." Emily said gently.

Naomi's arm dropped away from the redhead's shoulder as she nodded her head vigorously, "I know but you've got to lighten up and stop being so boring otherwise everyone will fall fast asleep. 'I'm Emily Fitch, I have water every other drink.' YAWN."

Katie tried and failed to hide the snort of laughter erupting from her mouth, she was silenced by a look from Emily, who had folded her arms.

"Well that's better than 'I'm Naomi Campbell, I have to have everything just so because I'm the world's biggest control freak." Emily countered.

Naomi paused as she worked out if she had just been insulted, she furrowed her brow and then grinned at the redhead again, "I like being a control freak, it makes me shit hot in bed."

Emily began to blush, "Well I wouldn't know about that, would I?"

Naomi gave her an exaggerated wink, "Oh right I get it. But Em, if you play your cards right tonight you could find out."

"Right, so what were you two doing outside all that time?" Effy interjected, quickly changing the subject.

Naomi laughed, "We were cond... condu...doing an experiment, weren't we Cook?"

Cook nodded and smiled, "Yeah but I'm not sure it was very scientific."

"HEY" Naomi yelled suddenly causing them all to jump, "I should do it on more people to check, that would be more con...clus...ive."

Cook laughed, "Like who?"

Naomi swayed slightly as she stood in front of Effy, "Eff, you're my bestest friend, you'll do my experiment won't you?"

Effy smiled at her, "Depends what it is."

Everyone gasped as Naomi leaned over and kissed the brunette on the lips. They continued to kiss for about 15 seconds until Naomi pulled away, she shook her head and looked at Cook, "Nothing, absolutely nothing at all."

"Oh cheers very much Naoms, I really feel special now." Effy said indignantly.

The blonde pouted at her, "Sorry, but it's an experiment I can't change the results."

She briefly glanced at Melissa, "No, I'm not that desperate yet." Her gaze fell on Emily's twin.

Katie immediately put her hands in front of her, "No fucking way Naomi, I don't kiss girls and even if I did you wouldn't be my first choice."

"Oh please Katie, it's for science. You look like her so it will be a really good test." Naomi pleaded.

Katie shook her head, "I don't care, I'm not letting you kiss me..."

She was surprised as the blonde lunged and quickly kissed her. As Katie pushed her away Naomi sighed, "Nope, nothing again. I think you were right Cook."

"There is a way to check..." He responded mischievously.

The blonde put her finger to her lips, "Shhhh, I can't."

Cook shrugged, "I'm just requestin' you check, it's for science remember?"

Naomi pointed at him, "You are a fucking genius you know that?"

She turned to Emily, who still had her arms folded and was staring at her with a difficult to read expression, "Oh, so it's my turn at last?"

Naomi nodded, "Last but by no means least."

Emily couldn't help smiling, "You're far more charming when you're wasted."

Naomi smiled back, "Come on then, pucker up."

Emily rolled her eyes and leaned in to kiss the blonde, it was more of a peck on the lips but she still heard Naomi moan as their mouths pressed together. After about 20 seconds she pulled away and Naomi opened her eyes.

"There it is, the exploding fireworks and erupting butterflies," she whispered to the redhead so no one else could hear.

Cook coughed, "So do we have proof?"

Naomi turned around, "Yep it's official, I'm ruined."

"What's official?" Emily asked quietly.

Naomi started to answer but suddenly she felt woozy, Emily grabbed her to stop her falling. They all watched in horror as Naomi swallowed hard and then promptly threw up all over Emily's top.

"Ewwww. Naomi's not the only thing that's ruined tonight." Katie said with a grimace.

Effy shook her head, "Right I think that's the end of the night for Ms Campbell here, in fact Cook get rid of everyone. Em, help me get her upstairs and we'll get you cleaned up too."

Emily looked despairingly at her top, "This was brand new."

Naomi looked at her with bleary eyes, "I'm really sorry, I'll buy you a new one."

"It doesn't matter. Let's get you cleaned up, undressed and into bed." Emily replied.

Naomi giggled, "Oh Em, I thought you'd never ask."

Emily rolled her eyes as she and Effy carried the blonde towards the stairs, "Seriously Naomi, not the time or the place."

* * *

A short while later Emily walked into the kitchen and found Katie glaring at Melissa.

"Melissa, what are you still doing here?" Emily asked.

"That's what I keep asking her." Katie said sharply.

Melissa looked at Emily, who was wearing a clean t-shirt and some boxer shorts "I was waiting for you. Can you get changed and then we can go?"

Emily shook her head, "Sorry Melissa, I'm staying here. I've only come back down to get a glass of water and some tablets for Naomi."

"Is she ok?" Katie asked with a concerned look.

Emily nodded, "Eff and I managed to get her undressed and put her under the shower. She didn't make it easy though. She's in bed but will probably feel awful tomorrow hence the need for the tablets."

Melissa stared at her, "What is it with you and Naomi? Why are you always going out of your way to help her?"

"For God's sake Melissa, just let it drop ok? I told you we're friends, this is what you do for your friends." Emily replied with a sigh.

"Yeah, especially when you want to fuck them." Melissa mumbled.

Emily finally lost her patience, "Listen Melissa your jealousy is really starting to get on my nerves. You cheated on me remember? So who I may or may not want to fuck is none of your damn business."

"So you admit you want to fuck her then?" Melissa said with a scowl.

"Jesus Christ, you just can help yourself can you? Would it make you feel better if I said yes? There you go I've said it, yes Melissa I want to fuck Naomi ok? Every time I see her the only thing I can think about is getting her into bed and screwing her brains out until she screams the house down and begs me to stop. Do you feel vindicated now?" Emily shouted at her.

"I knew there was something going on, I could tell by the way you look at her when you think no one is watching. It's all love dovey and puppy dog eyes." Melissa glared at her.

"Aaaaggghhhh. For the last fucking time there is nothing going on between me and Naomi, not that it's got anything to do with you if there was." Emily screamed.

Cook came into the kitchen, "What's all the noise?"

"Cook can you make sure Melissa get's home ok, she lives not far from here. I need to get these to Naomi." Emily said wearily.

Cook nodded, "Of course, come on pixie girl. I'll walk you to your house."

As she was leaving Melissa turned to Emily, "She'll break your heart you know, straight girls always do."

Once she was gone Katie turned to her sister, "Are you ok? That was a bitchy thing to say."

Emily shrugged, "I'm fine it's the sort of thing I expect from Melissa. I'll see you tomorrow, night."

"Night sis" Katie replied as she watched Emily go back up the stairs.

As Emily neared Effy's bedroom she could hear raised voices, she smiled Naomi was obviously being difficult again.

"No, don't want you, I want Emily." The blonde said petulantly, slightly slurring her words.

"And I've just told you 10 times Emily is downstairs getting you some pain killers and will be back in a minute. Now for the last time put this bloody t-shirt on." The brunette said exasperatedly.

"No, I want Emily to do it." Naomi stated again.

Effy sighed, "Jesus Naomi, please stop acting like a two year old. Emily must have the patience of a saint to put up with all of your moods."

Emily pushed the door open and found Naomi dressed only in a pair of knickers sitting on the bed. Naomi looked over at her and smiled, "You look like an angel standing there in the doorway like that.

Emily rolled her eyes, "As well as being charming you're also very corny when you're wasted."

"I'm not wasted, well not as much as I was, puked it all up. Can you put my t-shirt on for me?" Naomi replied holding her arms in the air.

Emily put the water and tablets down and pulled the t-shirt over the blonde's head, "There you go. All better?"

Naomi nodded, "I like it when you take care of me."

Effy walked over to the door, "I'll leave you to it Em. And you, you're getting a good slap in the morning for this."

Naomi smiled at her, "Thanks Eff, I love you, you're my best mate, you know that?"

Effy rolled her eyes, "I know and I love you too, even if it is only the drugs talking. I'll see you tomorrow."

Emily pulled up the duvet and ushered the blonde inside before she handed her the tablets, "Here take these two now and there's two more for the morning."

Naomi did as she was told and afterwards she lay down against the pillow. Emily sat on the edge of the bed next to her and pushed a strand of hair out of her eyes.

"What are we going to do with you eh?" Emily said gently.

Naomi wiggled her eyebrows, "I can think of a few things I'd like to be doing with you right now."

Emily rolled her eyes, "Honestly Naomi, sometimes it's easy to see why you and Cook get along so well."

"Sorry." The blonde slurred before growing serious. She reached up and tenderly stroked Emily's cheek causing the redhead to close her eyes and sigh.

"You're so beautiful." Naomi uttered as she rubbed Emily's face with the pad of her thumb.

Emily opened her eyes, "Thank you."

"I mean it, I think you're the most beautiful thing I've ever seen." Naomi said earnestly.

Emily smiled, "Like I said, thank you, even if it is only because you're trashed."

Naomi shook her head, "It's not because I'm trashed, it's the truth. The fact I'm wasted means I've got the guts to tell you, that's all."

Emily blushed, "Ok, well seeing as we're being drunkenly honest, I meant what I said in the pub you know. You are the most stunning woman I've ever laid eyes on."

Now it was Naomi's turn to go red, "What like more than anyone else?"

Emily nodded, "More than anyone else, real or famous, alive or dead. I think you're probably the most gorgeous woman in the whole world."

Naomi paused before she took the redhead's hand and placed it against her lips before gently kissing each of her fingers. The sensation caused goosebumps to appear on Emily's arm and he was so busy enjoying the feeling she almost failed to hear Naomi's next comment.

"If you think I'm gorgeous why don't you want to be with me?" Naomi asked quietly.

Emily sighed, "Oh Naomi... I'm not sure now is the right time to talk, it's late and you've been through the ringer a few times."

Naomi frowned, "Seriously, what's wrong with me?"

Emily shook her head, "There's nothing wrong with you, where did that come from?"

Tears sprang into Naomi's eyes, "Why doesn't anyone want me? My Dad left me, Cook cheated on me and you keep fighting with me."

"I hate it when we're not speaking. It makes me totally miserable." Emily replied honestly.

"Then let's stop arguing all the time and be together, you know properly, like a couple." Naomi stated.

Emily sighed before kissing her gently on the forehead "I'm going to get you a bucket in case you need to be sick again."

As she was getting up Naomi grabbed her hand, "You didn't answer me. Why are you so afraid?"

Emily stared at her before replying, "I'm scared of getting hurt again and I'm afraid if I let you in that's what's going to happen."

"I'd never hurt you" Naomi said looking directly into her eyes. "I...I...love you."

Emily stared back into the slightly blurry blue orbs that were still so intensely focused on her, before making her way to the door, "Well that's definitely the drugs talking. Sleep well Naomi."

"That's it, you're going to walk out on me after what I've just said?" Naomi asked incredulously.

Emily shrugged, "I'm sorry, but I'm not sure I can have this conversation right now."

Naomi looked at her sadly before turning away, "I had you down as a lot of things Emily, but a coward wasn't one of them."

* * *

Effy looked up from her glass as the redhead entered the kitchen, "Emily, come and have a vodka, I hate drinking alone."

Emily picked up the half empty bottle from the work surface, "This was almost full when I left so you seem to be doing ok so far."

Effy smiled, "Katie had some too, but she's a lightweight and went to bed."

Emily poured herself a glass, "Have you got a bucket Eff, in case Naomi needs to be sick again?"

Effy nodded and got up, "Wait right here, I'll be back in a sec."

The brunette left the room, stumbling against the doorframe as she went. Emily stared at the glass and downed it in one before pouring another measure. The blonde's words were echoing around her head, swirling and swirling until they reached a crescendo.

_I love you, ...love you, ...love you... love you_

_why don't you want to be with me?"...with me...with me...with me_

_Coward...coward...coward...coward_

Emily took a deep breath, she knew they'd have to talk eventually, but she'd meant what she said to Naomi, she really couldn't deal with it at the moment. Right now all she wanted to do was get drunk and forget about everything.

She took another large sip as Effy returned carrying the bucket. The brunette placed it on the floor and swayed as she got back up, "Woah, I think I'm a bit pissed."

Emily sighed as she finished her drink, "You're lucky, but this is my second so hopefully I'm not far behind."

Effy sat next to her, "What no water in between?"

Emily smiled and poured them both another, "Not tonight. Tonight I'm drinking to get shit faced, fuck the hangover."

Effy clinked her glass against Emily's, "Here's to being pissed and reckless."

Emily rolled her eyes, "Everyone doesn't really think I'm that boring do they?"

Effy paused slightly too long, "No of course not."

Emily pushed her, "Hey, I can be wild you know."

"Name a time you've been crazy then." Effy challenged.

Emily thought really hard, there weren't that many things that sprang to mind, "Nope, can't think of any. I am dull, dull, dull. The only time I've even vaguely let my hair down was in Cyprus and look how that turned out."

Effy noticed the slight frown on Emily's face as she spoke, "Hey, what's happened now?"

Emily waved her hand, "Nothing, it's nothing. I just had a bit of an awkward conversation with Naomi that's all."

Effy snorted, "Honestly why can't you two just screw and be done with it?"

Emily sighed, "Naomi asked me why I didn't want her."

"What did you say?" Effy enquired.

Emily blushed, "Nothing, I chickened out and said I didn't want to talk about and then I left. I don't understand why it's always so complicated between us, it shouldn't be this hard right?"

Effy placed her hand on top of Emily's, "Sorry Em but you're asking the wrong person. My opinion of relationships is so fucked up because of my parents. That's why I never get into one, they're not worth the hassle if you ask me. I see someone I fancy, male, female or both on occasion, it doesn't matter, I shag them and then I get the hell out of there. No messing about with exchanging numbers or seeing them again, just hot sex with no strings attached.

Emily looked surprised, "I didn't know you slept with women."

Effy nodded, "Hell yeah, some of the best sex I've ever had was with girls, they're usually a lot more willing to do the dirty stuff."

Emily laughed, "I couldn't possibly comment."

Effy shrugged as she poured them another drink, "Doesn't matter if it's a boy or a girl though. Fuck 'em and flee that's my motto."

Emily smiled at her, "Hey, maybe that's how I can be more wild. I could be more like you and forget about relationships, they're too much hard work. I should just see someone I fancy and screw their brains out. No strings, no having to deal with feelings, no heartache."

Effy smiled back, "There you go, happy I could provide the perfect solution. Let's face it someone as pretty as you will have no problem finding plenty of gorgeous women to take advantage of."

Emily blushed, "Thanks."

Effy shrugged, "I'm just telling the truth. You're seriously fuckable."

Emily stared into Effy's eyes and didn't know if it was because they were both drunk, had been talking about sex or a combination of both but at that moment she knew she really wanted to kiss the brunette. She saw Effy's eyes widen slightly and the redhead knew she felt the same. They almost moved in slow motion towards each other and Emily closed her eyes as their lips met. A picture of Naomi flashed into Emily's mind, but she pushed it away as she continued to kiss Effy and thought, _no strings, no having to deal with feelings, no heartache._


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: My goodness you lot are firmly on Naomi's side here aren't you? Obviously my intention was to mix things up to create some angst so please don't hate me for the first part of this chapter, all I will say is that I do plan my stories so (usually!) everything happens for a reason and hopefully by the end of this chapter I'll have explained why various people acted in the way they did, even if it seemed out of character. I'm quite enjoying writing people in a slightly diffferent way in this story which is why I decided that Jenna, although she isn't a main character, should be supportive. I know it might not be to everyone's taste but Naomily will be creating enough drama of their own without having a homophobic Mum to contend with as well. **

**This update is quite a long one, with a few twists which may or may not come as a surprise so I hope you like it.**

**A million thanks for reading and especially for the reviews, like I have said tons of times it really makes me happy to read your comments and writing is a lot easier when you know the people reading it are enjoying it too.**

* * *

The next morning Effy opened her eyes and groaned quietly, the combination of pills, spliff and alcohol had certainly caught up with her this morning in the form of a stonking hangover. She rubbed her face and yawned. It was then she realised she wasn't alone. She turned her head, ignoring the shooting pains it caused, and noticed the red hair splayed out on the pillow next to her.

She quickly lifted the duvet and glanced down. They were both naked under the quilt. She let it drop back down and sniffed her hand, there was an unmistakable scent which could only have come from her fingers being inside a very specific part of a woman's body. _Shit_, she thought as she gingerly made her way to the edge of the bed. She climbed out and quickly put on some underwear and pulled a t-shirt over her head. As quietly as she could she tiptoed from the room. As she made her way downstairs she passed her bedroom, Naomi was still asleep, the other side of her bed was empty.

_She is going to fucking kill me for this_, Effy cursed, _why oh why did I do something so stupid?_

She made her way into the kitchen and boiled the kettle, while she was waiting she went outside for a fag and took some pain killers. She nervously tapped her foot against the wall as the words _shit, fuck and bollocks_ kept echoing around her brain. When she got back inside she saw Cook was up and about.

"Alright Eff, did you sleep ok?" He asked.

The question made Effy panic and she stood staring at him, opening and closing her mouth like a goldfish.

Cook laughed, "Jesus Eff, it was a simple question, no need to freak out."

Effy stared at him, "Cook, you have to help me. I've done something really, really bad."

Cook poured the tea, "Like what? I bet I've done worse."

Effy shook her head "I doubt it. If you think of the worst thing you've ever done and multiply it by a million you might get close."

Cook stared at her, "Come on Eff, whatever it is can't be that bad.

Effy exhaled, "I'll put money on the fact you've never slept with your best mate's girlfriend, well sort of girlfriend."

Cook started to laugh until he saw the look on Effy's face, "Fucking hell, you're not joking. You slept with Emily? Naomi is going to tear you limb from limb for this, actually that will be her being nice. What the fuck did you go and do that for?"

Effy slumped against the counter, "I really don't know, I've never even thought about Emily like that before, she's with Naomi's so definitely off limits. Cook you know it's totally unlike me, I don't know why I did it, I'd never hurt Naomi like that."

Cook held his hands up, "Whoa Eff, slow down. Ok so we've established it was out of character but it still happened. So how come it did?"

Effy sat down and sighed, "We both got totally trashed and she was saying how tough things were with Naomi sometimes. So we started joking about how she should be more like me and just screw people and not bother with relationships anymore. Then we kissed and I suppose one thing led to another. I'm not sure we actually had sex, but when I woke up we were both naked."

Cook shook his head, "So you fucked Naomi's girl but you can't even remember it? That's got to make totally fucking up your friendship worth it."

"Would you prefer me to be able to give Naomi a blow by blow account?" Effy snapped but then she paused.

The painkillers had started to kick in and she was beginning to have flashbacks. She closed her eyes, she didn't have total recall but what she could remember was enough to tell her she'd done the deed with Emily and not just once either.

_She definitely remembered kissing the redhead and thinking at the time it was wrong but her lips looked so inviting._

_She vaguely remembered going upstairs and stumbling into her parents' room before falling onto the bed and pulling the redhead on top of her._

_She remembers there being more kissing as clothes were hastily discarded and hands wandered freely over newly naked flesh._

_At one point she was sure she checked that what they were doing was ok. The redhead's response was a definite yes. She had looked at her and simply said, "I want to fuck you and I know you want me back."_

_It was all the encouragement she needed and she quickly pushed her fingers inside the twin, moaning as she felt how hot and wet she was. She can remember exactly how the redhead felt as she thrust back against her hand and begged Effy to fuck her harder. She recalls how the redhead's tits bounced up and down every time she pumped her fingers inside her and how her moans of pleasure got louder as the redhead moved closer and closer to the edge. Eventually she couldn't control herself any more and Effy remembers the bead of sweat on her forehead as she whispered her name over and over as she came._

"_Oh God Effy,...oh yes,...Effy,...Effy,...Effy..."_

_After that she can recollect the feel of the redhead's tongue on her body, as it explored the naked flesh her hands had only just finished discovering. She recalls her nipples growing harder and harder as the redhead swirled the tip of her tongue around them while rubbing her thigh between her legs._

_She remembers the twin slowly moving down her body, licking, sucking and nipping as she went. She remembers the redhead teasing her all the way down, telling her exactly what she was going to do with her tongue when she reached her destination. She recalls how the redhead was true to her word and made sure her tongue did exactly what she'd promised. Effy remembers pleading with her to go faster as the twin's tongue flicked rhythmically across her clit and her fingers were thrust deep inside her. Effy couldn't help her hips bucking wildly as the tongue was pressed hard against her and the fingers curled inside her as she came._

Effy opened her eyes and found Cook staring at her, "I'm guessing from your expression that you can remember some, if not all, of last night now?"

Effy nodded and looked away ashamed, "The sex was incredible. I came at least three times."

Cook smiled, "Well Naoms is always saying how good in bed she is. But was it so incredible that you are prepared to be killed by your best friend?"

Effy shook her head, "It's not funny. Oh fucking hell Cook, what am I going to do?"

He winked at her, "If I was you I'd be gettin' my passport ready and settin' off to the airport as we speak. Borneo is probably far enough away."

Effy looked at him, "We both know wherever I ran to would never be far enough away after what I've done."

Cook poured them both another cup of tea, "I guess you'll just have to stay here and face the music then."

* * *

Naomi woke with a jolt, she didn't know what had caused her to wake so suddenly but her heart was pounding. She supposed she had been having some sort of nightmare. She glanced at her watch and saw it was already late. She looked over to the other side of the bed. It was empty. She remembered the things she'd said to Emily last night and groaned. She can still picture the look of panic on the redhead's face when Naomi told her she loved her and she clearly remembers the look of sadness as she had called her a coward.

_Why can't things ever run smoothly for us? _she thought as she sat up and took the two painkillers lying on the bedside table next to her.

After a couple of minutes she got out of bed, narrowly missing putting her foot into the bucket that was beside it. Cautiously she peered inside and was relieved to see it was clean. Her throat was sore and she had a vague recollection of being sick again, but maybe she was wrong about that. She was desperate for the loo but as she left the room she could hear someone in the shower. She'd have to try the one downstairs as the en-suite in Effy's parents' room was off limits. God she needed to brush her teeth as well, her mouth felt like someone had sandpapered it and then poured in sawdust.

She made her way downstairs and was relieved to find the cloakroom empty. She used the toilet and washed her hands and face. She looked in the mirror at her reflection, she looked like shit. _That'll teach me to take drugs and down a bottle of tequila_, she thought as she desperately tried to sort her hair out. She must have gone to sleep with it wet because this morning it looked like she'd pushed her fingers into a plug socket. She made her way to the kitchen, where she found Cook and Effy whispering together.

"Jesus Christ, please don't ever give me drugs or let me drink that much again. And if either of you takes the piss out of my hair I'll kill you." Naomi announced loudly as she sat down.

The blonde noticed Effy jump as she spoke, "Hey, did you sleep ok? Shall I get you a cup of tea?"

Naomi studied her friend who seemed nervous, "I think I slept ok but I had a bit of a run in with Emily and don't remember much after that. Tea would be great."

Effy quickly got up and busied herself pouring the drink. Cook was making a big show of being interested in the sport in the paper. Neither of them would look her in the eye. Effy placed the cup in front of her before scurrying away again.

Naomi sipped her tea in silence, before sighing, "Oh God, why is tea so good? I felt like absolute shit when I woke up but a couple of painkillers and a cup of tea later I feel like a new woman."

Both Cook and Effy muttered something in agreement, still not looking directly at the blonde. She stared at them for a few minutes before she couldn't stand it anymore.

"Look is one of you going to tell me what's going on?" Naomi asked.

She watched as Effy stared wildly at Cook, "What do you mean?"

Naomi raised her eyebrow, "Well all you've been doing since I sat down is giving each other meaningful looks and trying to avoid me."

Cook reached over and took the brunette's hand, "You're going to have to come clean babe."

Naomi looked at them, "Please tell me you two didn't sleep together last night. I don't think I could stand it if you ran off together."

For the first time that morning Effy finally looked at her, she had tears in her eyes, "I didn't sleep with Cook."

Naomi sighed, "Thank Christ for that, you know exactly what I think about screwing your mate's exes."

Effy nodded, "I know, it's forbidden."

"Damn right, there are plenty of people in the world to shag without having to resort to someone your friend has been shagging. It'd be too weird." Naomi said with a nod of her head.

Cook gave Effy's hand a squeeze, "Go on then."

Effy lifted her head and looked directly at the blonde, "Naomi, there's something I need to tell you. Something that I've done which is way worse than sleeping with Cook."

Naomi narrowed her eyes and her heart began to beat faster, "Go on then, I'm all ears."

Effy faltered, "Just hear me out ok? I promise I didn't mean for it to happen and I will never, ever do anything like this again no matter how drunk I am."

Naomi swallowed as she felt the bile rise in her throat, "I'm not going to like this am I?"

The brunette shook her head, "Naoms, last night after you'd gone to bed. I...I...slept with Emily."

Naomi started to laugh, "Sorry Eff, can you say that again because I could swear you said you slept with Emily."

Effy nodded, "That is what I said."

Naomi squeezed her eyes tightly shut, this couldn't be happening, "But you know how I feel about her, you wouldn't betray me like that, I'm your best friend."

"I know you are and I really didn't mean to do it, please you have to believe me." Effy said finally standing in front of the blonde.

Naomi opened her eyes but she almost stared through the brunette girl in front of her, "It's not true, this is all a big joke. Tell me you're lying and this is a wind up. If this was your idea Cook, it's not funny."

Effy gulped but shook her head, "I'm sorry Naomi, but it's not a joke. I woke up in my parents' bed with Emily naked next to me. I can remember some parts of the night, but not all of it. But I do remember us having sex."

Naomi covered her ears, "NO! I do not want the details Elisabeth. It's bad enough that you've done this to me without pouring salt into the wounds as well."

Effy flinched, Naomi only ever used her full name when she was really, really angry. She looked at Cook who simply shrugged. Finally Naomi got up from the table.

"Will one of you give me a fag please?" She asked and they both handed her a cigarette. Silently she went outside, closing the door gently as she went.

Effy sat with her head in her hands, "Oh my God Cook, I've never seen her so angry, not that I blame her. Did you see how white her knuckles went?"

Cook nodded, "I'm guessing we're about two minutes away from the biggest explosion you've ever seen. She was like this the first time I cheated on her, seemingly calm at first and then she lost control and I thought she was going to put me in the bloody hospital."

"Thanks Cook, that makes me feel a hell of a lot better. I don't need reminding that the reason Naomi doesn't lose her temper properly very often is that she's scared she won't stop until she's killed someone." Effy said with a frightened groan.

Cook shrugged, "Hey, I'm not the one who slept with her girlfriend."

It was this moment that Emily decided to enter the kitchen. Her hair was wet and she had changed her clothes, "Sorry Eff, I hope you don't mind I borrowed these."

The brunette was unable to face her but shook her head anyway. Cook leapt up and offered to make the redhead a cup of tea, she smiled gratefully at him before walking over to Effy.

"Effy can we talk about last night please?" Emily said tentatively just as Naomi re-entered the kitchen.

The blonde took in the scene that greeted her and sneered, "Yeah Elisabeth, why don't you and Emily have a cosy chat about last night? In fact why don't you do it here so we can all listen?"

"So she's told you then?" Emily said sadly to Naomi.

"Yes Emily, Elisabeth's been very honest with me, brutally some might say. Were you going to tell me?" Naomi asked.

Emily nodded, "Of course I was going to tell you. What kind of person do you take me for?"

Naomi laughed bitterly, "I think we all know the answer to that. Whore pretty much covers it."

Emily gasped, "Hey don't speak to me like that. You kissed Sophia first if you remember, so I think you've got the whole slapper vibe worked out."

Naomi crossed the room so her face was inches from the redhead, "Yes Emily I did kiss Sophia first but I didn't fucking screw her did I?"

Emily pushed her backwards and looked puzzled, "What's that got to do with anything? Like I said you did it first so as far as I'm concerned we're even."

"EVEN? We are so far off EVEN it is untrue. I had a quick snog on a dance floor with a random girl. How the fuck does that make us EVEN?" Naomi screamed at her.

Emily backed away, "Naomi calm down please, you're really scaring me now."

Naomi sneered at her, "If you think this is scary then you have no idea what I'm capable of."

Suddenly Cook moved between them, "Naomi, NO. You don't want to do this, believe me."

Naomi blinked and focused on him. She looked at Emily who had started to shake and realised that she had practically been pinning the redhead against the wall. Her hands were curled into tight fists. She collapsed into Cook and began to sob.

"How could they do this to me Cook?" she said as she wept.

"Shhhh sweetheart, I don't know." He replied soothingly.

Naomi continued to cry against Cook's chest and all the time he was rubbing her back and muttering comforting noises. Both Emily and Effy shifted uncomfortably but knew they had no choice to wait until the blonde was ready to talk again.

Eventually Naomi pulled away and looked at Effy with red rimmed eyes, "You knew I was in love with her but you still did it anyway. Elisabeth Stonem, can't resist anything with a pulse but especially if her best friend might be interested too, makes it all the more satisfying eh Eff?"

"Naoms I'm so, so sorry, I didn't mean to, neither of us did." Effy said also starting to cry.

Emily walked up to the blonde, "Naomi, I really am sorry. I didn't mean for you to get this upset."

Naomi bit her lip, "I'd expect this from Effy, she couldn't give a fuck when she's pissed, but not you, I thought you were different. I thought it was bad you couldn't get away fast enough when I told you how I feel about you but I didn't expect you to go running straight into the arms of my best friend."

Emily looked embarrassed, "Look Naomi it happened once and it'll never happen again, I promise. We were both really drunk and got caught up in the moment."

"The irony in all this of course is that your reasoning for not wanting to be with me was that I'd end up hurting you. So what did you decide Emily, attack was the best form of defence. You'd get your retaliation in first and put me off for good?" Naomi asked with tears still in her eyes.

"I didn't mean to hurt you." Emily said sadly.

"How did you think I'd feel when I found out you screwed Effy?" Naomi asked shaking her head.

Emily stared at her, "You mean when you found out I kissed Effy."

"No Emily, you fucked my best friend while I was asleep in the next room." Naomi stated.

Emily stopped, "Er, no I didn't. I kissed your best friend in the kitchen."

"Oh come on Emily, just admit it, you screwed Effy." Naomi spat at her.

"I won't bloody admit that Naomi. Because IT'S NOT TRUE. After I left you I came down to get you a bucket in case you were sick again. Effy and I had a few drinks and we're chatting and that's when I kissed her. Stupidly I tried not to think about you but it was impossible so I broke away and apologised. Effy was horrified too but I said I would have to tell you what I'd done as I felt so bad about it."

Naomi turned to Effy who had a look of slow realisation dawning on her face and something else that looked like relief.

The blonde turned back to Emily, "Effy has already told me you slept together, how can you lie to my face?"

Emily noticed the question didn't have quite the same venom or conviction as before, "I'm not lying, how could you think we would do that to you? Effy's your best friend for Christ sake. Don't you know me at all?"

Naomi shrugged, "I'm not sure that I do anymore."

Emily took a deep breath and stared steadily at her, "Naomi, please, you have to believe me. I swear on my life, and anything else you want me to swear on, I didn't sleep with Effy."

Naomi looked at Emily, "So where did you sleep?"

Emily sensed the blonde was beginning to calm down, "I spent the whole night with you, don't you remember? I was worried in case you were sick again, with good reason it turned out. I came back upstairs with the bucket, got into bed with you and told you I was sorry for walking off and that we could talk today. Jesus Naoms, didn't you notice there was a bucket beside the bed this morning that wasn't there when you went to sleep?"

Naomi looked defiant, "Well yeah of course I noticed it but you could have put it there anytime."

"Oh don't be so ridiculous. So what do you think happened? I put the bucket in your room and then snuck off to have my wicked way with Effy, popping back between shags to check you were ok? Don't you remember me holding your hair back as you were sick? Or rubbing your back for you?" Emily asked.

Naomi shook her head, but it was slightly unconvincing "So why was the bucket clean this morning?"

Emily sighed, "Because you gave me enough warning this time for me to get you to the bathroom. It seemed preferable to me getting covered in vomit or waking up next to a bucket full of sick."

Naomi thought hard at the redhead's words, Emily seemed to be telling the truth and Effy was backing the redhead up. If Naomi was being honest some hazy memories had started to come back to her and were now becoming clearer. She hadn't fabricated being sick again, but she had forgotten that the redhead was with her at the time. She could now recall Emily hurrying her towards the bathroom and holding her forehead as she wretched into the toilet. The redhead had stroked her back to make sure she was finally done and helped her brush her teeth before leading her back to bed. Once there she had softly stroked her hair until she fell back to sleep, all the time whispering that she was going to take care of her.

Emily could sense the mood change in the blonde, "So now do you believe me? Jesus, I think I might remember sleeping with someone don't you? And Effy certainly wouldn't forget, believe me."

Naomi nodded and gave her a slight smile, "I can vouch for the fact that sex with you is a pretty unforgettable event. I'm sorry for accusing you like that, it's just, well Effy was so convinced you'd slept together and you were gone in the morning."

Emily smiled, "I needed a shower, we both had alcohol sweats and I was a bit icky as although I got you to the toilet you're still not the neatest puker in the world."

Naomi turned to Effy, "Sorry, I know deep down you wouldn't do that to me."

"While I'm grateful for the apology I'm not sure I deserve it. I definitely shagged someone and I was convinced it was Emily, so I must have been thinking about her on some level." She paused and gasped as a memory came back to her, "Oh God..."

Naomi looked at her, "What?"

Effy went white, "Nothing, it really doesn't matter. Let's just say I'm really glad it wasn't Emily and leave it there."

Suddenly Emily's hand flew to her mouth, "Oh Jesus Eff, you're shitting me?"

Naomi finally caught up and began to laugh at the brunette, "No fucking way."

Only Cook still seemed confused, "Will someone tell me what is going on? Emily can't be in two places at once..."

"No, but I can be in one of them. I think we need to talk Effy, don't you?" Katie said from the doorway, where she started to go bright red as the others stared at her with varying degrees of shock on their faces.

* * *

Effy quickly nodded and followed Katie into the hall where they paused.

"Do you want to talk in the lounge or go upstairs?" Katie asked clearly embarrassed.

Effy couldn't look her in the eye and just mumbled, "I don't mind."

Katie shrugged, "Upstairs is probably more private, you know if you won't find it too embarrassing."

Effy shook her head, "I think the need for privacy probably beats any discomfort we might have right now."

Katie followed her up the stairs and into her parents' room. Once there they both stood staring at the unmade bed. Katie closed her eyes and sighed as she remembered their exertions from the previous night. She glanced at the brunette who was swallowing hard.

"Sorry, this is too weird, can we go into my room please?" Effy asked much to Katie's relief.

They walked into Effy's room and she shut the door before motioning for Katie to sit down on the bed, the brunette took the chair. They sat in silence for several minutes, clearly both lost in their thoughts. Eventually Katie sighed.

"We're not doing much talking are we?" she asked quietly.

Effy shook her head, "To be honest, I'm not sure what to say. I don't know what I'm more shocked by, the fact I thought I slept with Emily or the fact it was actually you."

Katie snorted, "Believe me Eff, no one is as mortified as me we slept together. I've never, ever done anything like this before and I've had a lot of drunken one night stands."

Finally Effy looked up, "Look I'm sorry to ask and I don't mean to be hurtful but I don't really remember how it all unfolded. I recall us having a drink downstairs and you going to bed. I remember kissing Emily in the kitchen, and after she reminded me I remember us breaking apart because we couldn't do that to Naomi. But everything is kind of patchy after that. What happened?"

Katie glanced at her, "I came upstairs as I felt tired, I think I'd had more to drink than you at that point and I was really feeling the effects. So I collapsed onto the spare bed and fell asleep. A while later something must have woken me up but I was glad as I really needed a wee. I went to use the bathroom but Naomi was being sick. I knew the en-suite in your Mum and Dad's room was off limits but the thought of going downstairs made me exhausted so I went into the room and used the loo in there. I was just about to leave when you came through the door. You looked at me and said..."

Effy interrupted as a memory came back to her, "I said 'You've changed your mind'"

Katie nodded, "I didn't know you'd kissed Emily so I wasn't sure what you meant so I mumbled something back and then you closed the door and kissed me. At first I was really surprised but I was drunk and it didn't feel that strange. We kissed a bit more and then you pulled me over towards the bed. You told me I was beautiful before you pulled me on top of you."

"Look I'm not trying to wig you out and I mean this in the friendliest, non sexual way, but you are you know? Beautiful I mean." Effy said gently.

Katie blushed, "No one's ever told me that before."

"Then you've been sleeping with idiots. Katie I know this is awkward because I only remember bits but I don't lie just to get people into bed. If I said, it I meant it." Effy stated.

Katie smiled shyly, "Thank you. So anyway we were lying on the bed and you began to undress me and I started to do the same to you. I wasn't even thinking about you being, you know a girl. It was just me and my mate Effy. So before long we were naked and then you suddenly stopped."

Effy nodded, "That's when I asked you if you were ok with this, I remember doing that."

Katie nodded, "Yeah, quite the perfect lady. I guess you thought I was Emily so you wanted to make sure she was ok about Naomi, but at the time I thought it was because you knew I'd always been so freaked out about sleeping with women and you wanted to make sure I wasn't doing anything I didn't want to."

Effy reddened, "I'm sorry."

"It's ok, it was nice to be asked for a change even if it wasn't for the reason I thought. After that you shrugged and said 'it's almost the same', which again I only understand properly now I know about Emily." Katie replied.

Effy frowned, "You weren't freaking out at all though. You told me you wanted to fuck me, which is always a good answer by the way, and you knew I wanted you back."

Katie looked embarrassed, "Don't worry, it surprised me too. But we were lying there naked and I was kissing you which wasn't as strange as I thought it would be..."

"From what I recollect, you're a very good kisser." Effy interjected.

Katie smiled, "So are you. I looked at you and I was a bit taken aback by how much I wanted to screw you, I could tell you wanted it too, so that's why I said what I did. The rest as they say is history. You looked at me at one point and it was almost as if you were only noticing me for the first time and you said my name in surprise, I guess that's when you realised it was me and not Em."

Effy exhaled, "Are you alright? I know shagging a girl wouldn't have been your first choice of things to do at a party but we were drunk and these things happen."

Katie shrugged her shoulders, "I'm ok I suppose. I always thought it would be disgusting, but it wasn't. I think what I'm trying to say is that if I had to sleep with any girl I'm glad it was you because it didn't feel too odd because we're good friends. We are still friends right?"

"Of course we're still friends." Effy said indignantly.

Katie could feel the tears prickling in her eyes, "Good, because I'd hate it if things got fucked up just because we'd had a drunken shag at a party. I've never really had a proper friend before, girls tend not to like me much, so there's only ever been Emily."

Effy walked over to the bed and sat down as she took Katie's hands in hers, "Hey. Look Katie, I know this is odd for us both and things might be a bit awkward for a while but don't ever think I don't want to be your friend because of it. I know we didn't get off to the greatest start but now your friendship is really important to me."

Katie sighed, "Your friendship is important to me too, in fact you're important to me. So are we going to hang out today? I'll understand if you need space or something, you're probably sick of the sight of me."

Effy leaned over and gently kissed Katie's cheek, "Well I did get to see rather more of you than I bargained for yesterday, but maybe we could just chill out as normal today. You know watch a film, get a pizza that sort of thing."

Katie smiled at her, "Normal it is. At least there was one good thing to come out of this."

Effy racked her brains but drew a blank, "Which is?"

"Well I was thinking about changing my hair colour, I think this is an irrefutable piece of evidence to support doing that. I don't want people mistaking me for Emily anymore." Katie said.

"Did Katie Fitch really just use the word 'irrefutable'," Effy said with a smile.

"Hey you, I know big words, I just chose not to use them. I leave that to the geeks." Katie admonished the brunette.

They smiled at each other before becoming silent once again. Eventually Katie made her way to the door. Just as she was about to open it she turned around with a sad expression.

"Thanks Eff, you know for being so cool with this. I'm sorry it turned out to be me you slept with and not Emily." Katie said with a half smile.

Effy stared as the twin turned away ready to go. The brunette closed her eyes and sighed, _fuck it, here goes nothing._

"I wanted it to be you." Effy said quietly.

Katie stopped and turned around, "What?"

Effy swallowed, "I didn't want to sleep with Emily, I wanted to sleep with you."

Katie sat back on the bed and stared at her, "I don't understand, you kissed Emily in the kitchen."

Effy nodded, "I know I did, but it's only because she looks like you. This morning I was trying to work out why I would do something like that to Naomi and I suddenly realised it was because I wished it was you. That's why I couldn't help it."

Katie paused lost in thought for a moment, "So when you said 'it's almost the same', you didn't mean sleeping with me was almost as good as being with Emily..."

"I meant it the other way round, that sleeping with Emily was almost like sleeping with you. I was thinking about you the whole time which is why I was so surprised when I realised it was you I was in bed with and not Emily." Effy confirmed.

Katie stared at the brunette for some time until Effy grew uncomfortable, "Please Katie don't freak out. I'm really sorry but I think I've liked you for ages."

"So why didn't you say anything before?" Katie asked.

Effy snorted, "Oh come on Katie, why do you think? Do the phrases 'I'm not a muff muncher', 'I'm 100% straight', 'Eww, dykes they're so disgusting' mean anything to you? You don't do girls remember, it repulses you."

Katie went red, "God I sound horrible, really homophobic."

Effy shrugged, "So I was hardly likely to confess to liking you was I? I thought it would drive you away and you'd never speak to me again."

"Hey, I thought we'd just established how important you are to me? We could have talked about it." Katie said indignantly.

"No we couldn't. The only reason we're discussing it now is because you got drunk enough to sleep with me and it wasn't as horrific as you imagined. Katie, I get it ok, you're straight. Jesus, I've had to watch you prove that lots of times with random blokes." Effy said slightly bitterly.

Katie looked at her, "Is that why you were off with me when I was dancing with that guy at the party yesterday?"

Effy nodded, "I pretended I was annoyed about you not keeping an eye on Naomi and Emily, but really I was jealous as hell."

Katie sighed, "Oh Eff, I'm sorry..."

"It doesn't matter, I'll get over it. Oh God, I shouldn't have said anything. We'd probably be ok if it was just the drunken fuck, passed it off as a mistake, but now you're going to freak out and I've ruined everything." Effy ranted.

The brunette was shocked when she felt Katie's mouth covering her own. They kissed for a while until Katie pulled away, "You're very cute when you ramble."

Effy had a confused expression on her face, "You just kissed me."

Katie smiled, "You noticed that huh?"

"But you're supposed to have run from the room screaming by now." Effy said.

Katie tilted her head, "Why would I do that?"

Effy raised her hands, "You know, the whole my friend has just told me she fancies me how fast can I get out of here thing."

Katie shrugged, "I suppose some people might do that, but not the ones who fancy their friend back."

Effy gasped, "What are you trying to say?"

Katie rolled her eyes and kissed the brunette again, "Effy Stonem you are very dense. I'm glad you told me you like me because I realised last night that I like you too."

Effy smiled shyly, "Really?"

Katie nodded, "I like you. A lot. Eff when you kissed me last night it didn't freak me out at all. I mean I was surprised but only because I didn't expect you to do it, not because it was gross. Instead of it feeling wrong or disgusting it felt amazing and like it was the most natural thing in the world. I've already told you I wanted to sleep with you but I couldn't believe how turned on I was. I mean I came like three times or something stupid, do you know how much of a struggle it is to come once with most people the first time you sleep together. So I figured maybe I'm not as straight as I thought because having sex with you was incredible, even if we were totally off our faces."

They stared at each other until a smile crept across Effy's face.

Katie started to smile too. "What?"

Effy raised her eyebrow, "I was just thinking that maybe we should see if the sex is as amazing as we remember when we're sober."

Katie grinned before pulling her down onto the bed, "What like now maybe?"

Effy moved on top of the twin and kissed her, "I told you we'd get along fine didn't I Katiekins?"

Katie gasped as she felt Effy's thigh start to rub between her legs, "Oh God, I just wish I'd listened sooner."

* * *

Cook came into the kitchen wearing only a towel and a huge grin from ear to ear, "I think this might be the start of a beautiful relationship."

Emily looked at him, "Oh come on Cook, this is Katie we're talking about. I can just about get my head around the fact that she might have slept with Effy when she was off her nut, but certainly not when she's sober."

Cook shrugged, "I went to take a shower and I heard them talking when I went in to the bathroom, they were definitely doing something else when I left."

Naomi rolled her eyes, "Cook, I know being the only man in a house full of horny women is almost your number one fantasy, but why don't you just calm down a bit. Sure Effy's shagged women, but never the morning after. She doesn't do repeat performances remember?"

Cook sat down, "Look ladies I'm only reporting back what I heard."

"Well maybe your ears are playing tricks on you because you're desperate for it to be true. You must have misheard." Emily stated as Naomi nodded in agreement.

Cook folded his arms, "Fair enough, but you tell me how the phrases 'Oh Christ Effy, fuck me' and 'Please Katie, faster' can be misinterpreted."

Emily looked at Naomi before smiling, "It seems unlikely but maybe they really like each other."

Naomi shrugged, "At least now we can get our own back and give them the third degree when they finally resurface, let's see how they like being interrogated."

They sat in silence for a while until Naomi looked at Cook, "Didn't you say you were meeting Freds at the pub?"

"Yeah, but not until later..." Cook began but he stopped as he saw the meaningful look from the blonde, "Oh right, I suppose I should get ready and go. You two can talk then or whatever."

He rose from his seat and kissed Naomi on the cheek, "I'll call you later ok?"

Naomi nodded and was surprised as Cook went over to Emily and kissed her on the cheek too.

"Remember red, world turned upside down." He said to Emily.

The redhead nodded, "I'll remember that, thanks Cook."

"What was that all about? Since when did you and Cook get along?" Naomi asked as he left the room.

Emily shrugged, "We had a bit of a chat yesterday, he's not such a bad bloke really."

Naomi looked at her in surprise, "I've obviously woken up in a parallel universe this morning."

The blonde began to busy herself around the kitchen, "Can I get you another cup of tea, or maybe something to eat? A bacon sandwich or something, any sandwich or a toastie..."

She jumped as the redhead touched her arm, "Naomi, stop avoiding me. Come and sit down, I think it's time we talked don't you?"

Naomi nodded and allowed Emily to lead her to the chair, she sighed as the redhead sat next to her but she was still afraid to look at Emily.

"We didn't do anything last night did we?" the blonde asked.

Emily snorted, "No we didn't. Like I said to Effy, you'd remember if we'd slept together."

"Sorry, it's just my memory is a bit hazy." Naomi said staring out of the window.

Emily smiled, "To be honest, the whole throwing up on me was a pretty big turn off."

The blonde sighed, "Yeah, sorry about that too. Like I said I'll buy you a new top."

They sat in silence until the redhead finally spoke.

"Naomi, about last night. Did you mean what you said?" Emily began tentatively.

The blonde started to redden as once again she remembered telling Emily she loved her and how startled the redhead had been. It was a stupid thing to confess, even if it was true. Now things were going to be uncomfortable. She really hoped Emily would let her down gently, it was already humiliating enough.

Naomi took a deep breath as she stared at her hands, "Yes I meant it, all of it. I'm sorry."

"Are you?" Emily asked.

Naomi nodded, "Yeah, I didn't want to freak you out but I couldn't help myself. It was like there was this massive secret bubbling away inside me and it had to escape. I really didn't mean to make things awkward. But you needn't worry it's ok that you don't feel the same. Well it's not ok, it hurts like hell, but what I mean is I understand and I realise that you might not want to spend time with me anymore."

Emily lifted Naomi's chin so the blonde was finally making eye contact, the blue eyes were sorrowful and full of fear.

"Idiot." Emily said gently.

A hurt look passed over Naomi's face, "There's no need to be so mean Emily, I feel bad enough as it is..."

Her sentence was cut short as Emily kissed her.

"I love you too." The redhead said as she pulled away.

Naomi looked surprised, "You do?"

Emily nodded, "I've been hopelessly in love with you since Cyprus."

Finally the blonde smiled, "Really? All that time?"

Emily smiled, "Yes Naomi, all that time."

Naomi frowned, "So why didn't you say anything?"

"Why didn't you?" Emily countered.

"I don't know, I didn't really admit it to myself until last night but I suppose deep down I knew a while ago. I guess I was afraid you didn't feel the same way." Naomi answered.

Emily shrugged, "Which I why I didn't say anything."

"Ok I get that. So why did you walk away last night?" Naomi asked.

The redhead shifted in her seat, "I sorry about that but I freaked out a bit. I was scared in case you didn't mean it, that you were only saying it because of the drugs. For all I knew you could have been totally loved up and telling everyone that."

"No it was just you, oh and Effy I suppose." A scowl crossed Naomi's face.

Emily looked directly at the blonde, "Naomi, I really am very, very sorry I kissed Effy. I was so mixed up, you'd kissed Sophia and I was angry at you for that. Then I thought we were going to kiss and nothing happened until we were in the kitchen, but then you threw up on me. To cap it all off you finally say the three words I've been longing to hear but you're off your face on drugs. Everything felt so complicated and Effy and I were joking about how much easier it was to keep things casual, so I kissed her. If it's any consolation I didn't feel anything when it happened, well nothing apart from guilt that it wasn't you."

Naomi shrugged, "It's like my experiment. I told Cook I didn't feel anything when I kissed Sophia and he found it hilarious I couldn't understand why so he kissed me. It felt strange and totally wrong, it was then I finally admitted I was in love with you and that kissing or doing anything with anyone else would always feel wrong. I know I kind of went overboard a bit by kissing Effy and Katie as well but I genuinely wanted to check."

Emily looked sceptical, "Hmmm, it's funny this checking involved you kissing a lot of people."

Naomi looked bashful, "It was only when I kissed you that I felt anything, honestly."

"Is that what you meant when you said you were ruined?" Emily asked.

Naomi nodded, "Yeah, Cook told me in the garden that I was a one woman girl from now on, it looks like he was right. So does this mean we can be together now?"

Emily looked away and sighed, "I don't know."

Naomi looked shocked, "Why not? I thought it's what you wanted, what we both wanted."

Emily turned back to her, "Naomi, what you said last night about no one wanting you, it's not true. I do want you, in fact I want you so much it scares me sometimes."

"Why does it scare you?" Naomi asked gently.

Emily looked at her tenderly, "It scares me because I've never felt like this about anyone before and I think you feel the same way. We could really hurt each other if things went wrong. I think you're the one person who could ruin my life."

Naomi gave the redhead a half smile, "I feel the same way and I suppose that is quite scary. But isn't it worse if we don't even try? Emily we've been tip toeing around this for months, unwilling to admit how we both feel, playing stupid games to hurt each other or make each other feel jealous and screwing each other but pretending it doesn't mean anything. Won't it be better if we're honest and really try to make this work? I love you so much and the thought of not being with you scares me far more than the thought of you hurting me."

Emily frowned, "Doesn't it feel like we're doing this the wrong way round, like we're going backwards?"

Naomi looked confused, "What do you mean?"

Emily sighed, "We started with this amazingly intense relationship in Cyprus, which don't get me wrong was incredible, but it was contained. Neither of us thought we'd see each other again so we were far freer than we've ever been here. Then we were really close friends, we spent virtually all our time together, had sleepovers, and we had a mind blowing fuck in the pub toilets. Then we fell out and became awkward friends who hardly knew each other at all..."

"We still managed a mind blowing fuck though, we'll at least it was for me." Naomi said with a smile.

Emily laughed, "I think you'll find I got far more pleasure from that than you did, and yes it was totally hot, but don't interrupt."

Naomi saluted her, "Sorry ma'am."

"Where was I? Right, so by this stage, you fucking me senseless in a classroom aside, we're almost strangers who barely even know each other and then we started acting like primary school children who spend their time in the playground pulling each other's hair because they're too shy to admit they like each other." Emily finished.

Naomi blinked a few times, "Ok so that is a fairly good description of how things have developed between us, but what's your point?"

Emily paused, "I suppose what I'm trying to say is don't you think we should put the brakes on and start moving forward again? Get to know each other properly and see how our relationship develops."

Naomi smiled, "What like normal people? You mean we should admit we like one another, spend some time together, have a first kiss, progress through all of the other bases before we finally decide to sleep together when the time feels right. Then we can fall in love and live happily ever after."

Emily smiled back, "I suppose that's what I'm suggesting in a nutshell yes. I know it's a bit unconventional because we're already in love but it's got to be worth a try if it means we'll stop being so manipulative and have a real shot at going the distance."

Naomi though for a minute, "I suppose it's worth a try if it means we're less likely to hurt each other. So what does it mean in practice?"

"I guess it means that we spend some time together, talk and get to know each other properly. But there can't be any kissing, hugging, sleepovers and definitely no shagging." Emily started.

"What never?" Naomi spluttered.

Emily shook her head, "No dumbass, of course at some point we can start doing all of those things again, especially the sex, I have a feeling that's going to be very important indeed. We just shouldn't rush into anything, we need to wait until we think we're at that the right stage of our relationship."

Naomi pouted, "What if I think we're already at the screwing stage, because believe me it's taking all my strength to not to fuck you right now."

Emily raised her eyebrow, "Flattering, and tempting, as that is the answer is no Naomi. If we're going to do this we need to do it properly, which is going to take a massive amount of will power."

"And bloody cold showers by the sounds of it." Naomi said sulkily.

Emily laughed, "I can vouch for the fact that they're quite effective, considering the amount I've had over the past month."

Suddenly Naomi smiled, "What about masturbation? Can I think about you when I'm getting myself off?"

Emily rolled her eyes, "I can't stop you thinking about me when you do that, just make sure I'm not in the same room though, there's no way I could stop myself joining in."

"God this is going to be hard." Naomi said with a sigh.

"We don't have to do it like this if you don't think we'll manage." Emily said sadly.

Naomi stroked her cheek, "We'll manage, I think you're right it'll mean much more if we do this properly. I love you too much and you're too important to me not to give it a go."

Emily smiled, "Thank you, this really means a lot to me."

Naomi paused, "What about other people? Do we tell Katie and Effy for instance?"

Emily shrugged, "I'm not sure, there'll be a lot less pressure on us if we keep it to ourselves."

The redhead was startled as Naomi thrust out her hand, "So Ms Fitch, I suggest we seal the deal with a firm handshake."

Emily tutted and pulled the blonde into a hug, "Don't be so daft, come here."

"I thought hugging was off limits?" Naomi said in mock outrage.

"After this it's off limits." Emily corrected.

They pulled slightly apart and stood with their arms wrapped around each other, staring into each other's eyes.

"I love you." Emily stated.

Naomi smiled, "I love you too."

The redhead closed her eyes as the blonde moved towards her and was surprised when Naomi pulled away. Emily opened her eyes again to find Naomi walking towards the door.

"Where are you going?" the redhead asked in a disappointed tone.

The blonde turned, "Into the lounge, I thought we could watch a film, I'll even sit on a separate sofa if you like."

Emily sighed, "But I thought..."

Naomi smiled, "Tut tut Emily, it's far too soon to be kissing. Where's that famous will power of yours?"

Emily was annoyed with herself that she'd given in so easily, "Tease."

"You know you love it really." Naomi said as she blew her a kiss before exiting the room.

Emily groaned, _Oh God, this is going to take a lot of cold showers_, she thought before following the blonde into the lounge.

* * *

As the film credits rolled Naomi stole another quick glance at Emily, they had both been doing it throughout the whole film. _I bet neither of us could actually explain what that movie was about_, she thought with a sigh as she looked at Emily's bare thigh which was tantalisingly close to her own leg. She looked up to find Emily staring at her.

"Sorry, this is just so difficult because we're half naked but I'll try harder to stop looking." The blonde muttered.

Emily nodded, "Maybe we should get dressed but I'm not sure our clothes are dry yet."

They were both relieved by the distraction when Effy and Katie came into the room, holding hands and giggling.

"Wow, I like the hair Katie. It suits you." Naomi said.

Katie smiled, "We found the colour in Effy's bathroom. What do you think Em?"

Emily studied her twin who now had black hair, "It looks nice and at least no one will mix us up now."

Effy blushed, "Yeah, that's what we figured too. So what have you guys been up to?"

Naomi shrugged, "We had a good talk and we've just finished watching a film."

"Oh we we're coming down to do that, which one did you see?" Katie asked.

Emily stared at Naomi who shrugged, "I'm not really sure, it was something about an army camp or a war I think. I wasn't paying much attention."

Effy laughed, "Too busy doing other things I suppose."

Naomi frowned, "No it was nothing like that thank you very much. Just because you've been having a shag fest don't assume everyone else is at it all the time too."

Effy held her hands up, "Alright, keep your hair on. Jeez Naomi it's obvious you haven't been doing anything because you're far too bloody grumpy."

Naomi's eyes narrowed, "Listen Effy, you might want to be a bit more careful what you say. I'm not sure I've totally forgiven you yet."

Effy swallowed, "Sorry."

Emily looked at her twin who was sat awkwardly on the sofa, "You just couldn't resist it could you Katie?"

Katie's head snapped up and took in the stony expression, "Resist what?"

"You couldn't let me have one thing that was just mine could you? You had to try being a lesbian too didn't you?" Emily said seriously as they all stared at her.

"Come on Em, that's a bit unfair." Naomi said.

Emily raised her eyebrow, "I was talking to my increasingly identical twin."

Katie looked embarrassed, "Ems, I'm really sorry, I didn't do it deliberately, I just really like Effy."

Emily burst out laughing, "That was funny, you should have seen your faces."

Katie stared at her, "So you don't mind really?"

Emily shook her head, "Of course I don't mind, if you like each other you should go for it. I can't pretend I'm not totally shocked though."

"Believe me you're not the only one." Katie smiled at Effy shyly before turning back to her twin, "Bitch."

"Muff muncher." Emily shot back with a smile.

Naomi got up, "Right who's for a Bloody Mary?"

Emily stared at her, "Naomi! Seriously how can you even think about drinking alcohol?"

Naomi shrugged, "Hair of the dog works every time Em. So do you want one?"

Emily paused, "Alright, can't have you drinking alone can I?"

Effy got up, "I'll come with you, do you want one babe?"

Katie nodded before pulling her down for a kiss, "Don't be too long though."

Emily rolled her eyes at Naomi before making a gagging noise, "Oh God, this is nauseating. Please don't leave me alone with Katie for too long either, I'm not sure I can stand the soppiness."

"Oh shut up Emily, I've had to put up with you mooning over Naomi for months." Katie snapped at her.

"Why don't you shut up." Emily replied.

Katie glared at her, "You started it."

Naomi and Effy quickly left them alone and went into the kitchen. Naomi went to the cupboard and grabbed the vodka while Effy found some tomato juice.

"Oh God they're like a pair of five year olds sometimes." Naomi said as she poured four generous measures into glasses.

Effy smiled as she got the rest of the ingredients from the cupboard, "I know, what have I let myself in for?"

Naomi raised her eyebrow, "I see, so this is more than a casual shag then?"

Effy turned red and shrugged, "I'm not sure but I think it might be."

Naomi paused as she put some ice in the drinks, "Wow, so you genuinely like Katie eh?"

Effy bit her lip and nodded, "Yeah, I really do. I realised last night that I've liked her for a while now but I was too scared to admit it."

"In case she rejected you?" Naomi asked gently.

"Come on Naoms, this is Katie 'I'm the world's straightest woman' Fitch, of course I thought she'd reject me." Effy said with a sigh.

Naomi smiled, "Apparently she's not as straight as she thinks. I'm assuming the sex was good?"

Effy leaned towards her, "Fucking unbelievable, I mean it Naomi, what she can't do with her tongue isn't worth knowing."

Naomi laughed, "It's obviously a Fitch family trait."

Effy looked embarrassed, "Naomi, I really am sorry for kissing Emily. I wouldn't hurt you for the world, you know that."

Naomi nodded, "I know, I'm still a bit cross with you both but I'll get over it. I never stay mad long."

"No you just hold a grudge for 10 years." Effy snorted.

Naomi pointed at her, "Oy, you're supposed to be grovelling. What I don't understand is why you convinced yourself you'd slept with Emily?"

Effy frowned, "I've been pondering that too. I wasn't really thinking clearly I suppose. I figured that me sleeping with Emily was less scary than if it had been Katie."

Now Naomi snorted, "Really? The idea of losing my friendship because I'd never be able to forgive you if you did that was less scary than it being Katie?"

Effy shrugged, "I said I didn't think it through. Of course not being your friend would be devastating but nothing scares me more on earth than the idea I might actually like someone and want to have a relationship."

Naomi smiled, "So how are you feeling now?"

The brunette gulped, "Really, really, arse clenchingly petrified. What if I fuck it up?"

"Come on it's early days, you can't start off thinking like that, it'll just become a self fulfilling prophecy otherwise. Relax a bit and enjoy it." Naomi said.

Effy stared at her, "Have we swapped bodies?"

Naomi laughed, "No, I'm just trying to prove that I do listen when you dish out all of your advice."

"Right let's change the subject and make you uncomfortable. What's happening with you and Emily?" Effy enquired.

Naomi smiled, "I'm not supposed to say but I have to tell someone. We're going to take it slowly and see how it goes but we both really want it to work out. We're, well, we're in love."

Effy's eyes widened, "Fuck Naoms, this is huge."

Naomi nodded, "I know, I still can't quite believe it either. Come on we'd better take these drinks though, they'll go warm if we leave it too long."

They entered the lounge and Naomi handed a drink to Emily with a smile and sat down. She looked up to find Katie grinning at her, "What?"

Katie took a sip of her drink grimacing slightly, "So it's true love then?"

Naomi looked at Emily, "What happened to keeping it to ourselves?"

The redhead shrugged, "Sorry, but I was so excited I had to tell someone. Anyway, I bet you told Effy, you were in the kitchen for ages."

Naomi blushed, "I might have mentioned it."

"There you go then, we're both terrible at keeping secrets." Emily said with a smile.

Naomi looked over to Effy and Katie, "This goes no further than us four. We don't want any pressure from either of you. We're starting off as friends and seeing what happens but we'll do this at our own pace, in private. As far as everyone else is concerned we're mates and nothing more ok?"

They nodded before Effy said, "So do you fancy getting a pizza and watching some films?"

Naomi looked at Emily, "I don't mind, it's up to you really."

Emily nodded, "Sounds good to me."

"And will you be staying over again tonight or is that against the go slow rules?" Effy asked with a smirk.

"I don't really think we should..." Naomi started but she was interrupted by Emily.

"We might as well stay, it'll be late and our clothes still need to dry." The redhead stated.

Naomi stared at her incredulously, "What happened to no sleepovers?"

Emily smiled innocently at her, "I thought we should seal our deal properly so I wasn't intending to get much sleep. We can start our agreement formally on Monday, unless you have an objection?"

Naomi stared at Emily before leaning over to kiss her, "Monday it is then, although it'll be doubly hard to keep my hands off you after tonight."

Emily slowly licked her lips, "Naomi, when you find out what I've got planned you're going to find it a hundred times harder to resist me. I figured I might as well give you something special to remember while we go though our barren patch."

Naomi groaned, "Oh God, why do I have a feeling a cold shower isn't going to help me much? You are a wicked woman Emily Fitch."

Emily smiled before pulling the blonde into another kiss, "I know, it's one of the reasons you love me."

"One of the many." Naomi managed between kisses as she shivered with anticipation at the night ahead.


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: Hello again. I'm sorry this has taken an age to update and that this chapter is a filler one. I was focusing on my other story always with you and then I didn't feel like writing much for a while, I'm not sure why. But anyway it is what it is so hopefully it's ok and I'll try harder to update more quickly.**

**Thank you to everyone still reading, alerting and reviewing this story, and sorry again this chapter is a bit rubbish.**

* * *

Emily sat at her laptop and flicked through the various websites she had open. She sighed as nothing was really leaping out at her. All the time she absentmindedly stroked the necklace Naomi had bought her for Christmas. They had exchanged, but not opened, their gifts before the blonde went away with Gina. Apparently it was a Campbell family tradition to leave the country for warmer climes over the holidays and had been booked ages ago. At first Emily had been disappointed she wouldn't see Naomi over Christmas or New Year, she would miss her. However, this turned to relief as soon as she opened the blonde's present and realised her gift to Naomi was woefully inadequate by comparison.

_Emily turned the book around in her hand and smiled at her sister, "Thanks Katie it's lovely."_

_As usual, Emily didn't have the heart to tell Katie she had already bought and read the book, she knew her sister wouldn't change so there was no point in getting annoyed that she always made an effort while Katie grabbed the nearest book she could find. She'd received some small presents from the rest of her family, just tokens really as her main present from her parents and grandparents was, as usual, money. She had a running battle with them about her desire to receive cash at Christmas, but as she'd patiently explained many times, she would rather pool all of her money together and get one big gift rather than get lots of smaller things she didn't really want or need. She knew her Mum in particular thought it was impersonal but even Jenna had reluctantly conceded as Emily got older it made sense. Everything Emily bought was used and loved over and over again often until it was worn out. This was in stark contrast to Katie who would beg and beg for lots of things she 'absolutely must have' only to discard them by the end of January as soon as the novelty wore off._

_Emily sighed as she looked over at Katie showing off her new pair of shoes knowing full well after New Year's Eve they would be flung into the bottom of the wardrobe never to be seen again. She knew it might sound boring but her family worked hard for their money and it seemed inconsiderate to make them part with it for something that was going to be used once and then forgotten about._

_She was brought out of her thoughts by Jenna tapping her arm, "So sweetheart, what's the money going to be used on this year?"_

_Emily smiled, she knew exactly what she was going to treat herself to. "I've seen this really nice necklace on the Tiffany website. It's a sterling silver XO design by Paloma Picasso. I thought I might save the rest and put it with the money I've got left over from my birthday and go on holiday to Cyprus again in the summer."_

"_A necklace and a boring holiday you've already been on? How old are you Ems, ninety?" Katie scoffed from the corner._

_The redhead scowled at her twin, "My money, my choice. Unlike some people I don't fritter everything away and get left with nothing."_

_Rob held his hands up, "Now, now girls, come on. Everyone will be here soon and we don't want them to walk in on you two fighting do we?"_

_The twins reluctantly apologised to each other and sat down just as Emily's phone began to ring. She looked at the caller display and couldn't help the grin breaking out on her face._

"_Hey you, Happy Christmas. I wasn't expecting to hear from you until later." She said shyly._

"_I know but I've just opened your present and I wanted to ring you straight away to thank you. It's fantastic and is going to be so helpful for my politics course." Naomi responded excitedly._

_Emily found herself blushing, she had done some research on the internet and found a book she thought Naomi would like. "You're welcome, it's not much."_

"_Don't be daft Em, you put a lot of effort into choosing this for me including checking I didn't own it already, Mum told me." Naomi interrupted._

_Emily lowered her voice and checked Katie wasn't listening, "Yeah, well I know how annoying it can be when you get a book you already own."_

_Naomi laughed, "So she did it again for Christmas? Why don't you just say something?"_

_Emily sighed, "I don't want to seem ungrateful or upset her."_

_Naomi went quiet before continuing nervously, "Have you opened your present from me yet? If you don't like it I'd rather you said, I won't think you're ungrateful or get upset."_

_Suddenly the redhead understood her nervousness, "You're different to Katie. I haven't opened it yet but I know I'll love anything you get me because you'll have put a lot of thought into it."_

"_Why haven't you opened it yet? Yours was the first one I ripped the paper off." The blonde said in a slightly hurt voice._

"_We always open our presents as a family, I wanted to wait until I was on my own." Emily whispered before she looked around the room, everyone seemed occupied. "I can go and do it now if you like? I've been itching to open it all morning."_

_Naomi cheered up, "Ok, do you want me to call you back in a few minutes?"_

_Emily rose from her seat, "I'll call you back when I get upstairs. Speak to you in a minute."_

_The redhead hung up and quietly exited the room, she didn't want Katie barging in on her. She made her way upstairs and entered the bedroom, once inside she crossed over to her bedside table, pulled out the present and laid it on her bed. She sat down and dialled Naomi's number._

"_Er hi." Naomi answered with a wobble in her voice._

_Emily frowned, "What's the matter?"_

_The blonde sighed, "I'm just really nervous in case you don't like it."_

_Emily smiled, "Well I suppose there's only one way to find out, it's quite a tried and tested one apparently or so a certain someone told me on my birthday."_

_The redhead tore off the paper and pulled out a box. It was a turquoise blue and was emblazoned with the words 'Tiffany & Co.' It was surrounded by the signature white ribbon. She was stunned into silence._

_After a while Naomi's voice came quietly over the phone, "Ems are you still there?"_

"_Is this what I think it is?" Emily asked incredulously._

_Naomi swallowed, "Haven't you opened it yet?"_

"_Not yet, I've got the box in front of me. Is it what I think it is?" Emily asked more insistently._

_Suddenly Naomi felt bolder, "Remember that really good way to find out? I suggest you try that."_

_Emily pulled the ribbon and removed it. Her hands were shaking slightly as she opened the lid and found a small velvet drawstring bag inside. She unfastened the bag and tipped the contents into her palm. Sure enough, when she looked down she found the Paloma Picasso necklace sitting there. Again she was stunned into silence._

"_Have you read the card?" Naomi asked tentatively when there was no response from the redhead._

_Wordlessly Emily picked up the card attached. The handwritten message was simple, it read 'All my love and kisses, always. Naomi xo'._

"_Hu..how...how did you know?" Emily stammered._

"_You mentioned that was what you were planning to spend your Christmas money on so I looked it up on-line and bought it for you. It is the right one isn't it? There were two of the same design so I went for the bigger one..." Naomi trailed off aware she was rambling._

"_Naomi, I can't accept this. It's too expensive." Emily responded._

_The blonde sighed, "You don't like it."_

_Emily stared at the necklace, "Naomi it's beautiful, I love it, it's the nicest present anyone has ever bought me. But I know how much it cost and I know you can't afford that."_

"_I asked for my Christmas money early and Mum gave me a bit extra so I could buy it." Naomi stated._

_The redhead felt tears spring into her eyes, "You spent all of your Christmas money on me?"_

_Naomi sighed, "I wanted to buy you something special that I knew you'd like. I didn't want to get the first Christmas present I bought you wrong, but I guess I've fucked that up spectacularly."_

_Emily smiled, "You didn't get it wrong, the necklace is perfect."_

_Naomi let out the breath she'd been holding, "So does this mean you'll keep it?"_

"_If you're sure it's ok, I'd love to keep it." Emily replied quietly._

"_I'm sure. I'm just sorry I wasn't there to see your face." Naomi said._

_Emily grimaced as she put the necklace on, "Seriously Naoms you'll be glad you weren't. Drooling, open mouthed, rabbit in headlights; it's enough to put you off for life."_

_Naomi smiled, "Nothing would ever make me think you're anything less than beautiful."_

_Emily blushed and then heard Jenna calling up the stairs that her grandparents had arrived, "I'm really sorry but my folks have just got here so I've got to go. Thank you so much, it really is the best present I've ever received. I love you."_

"_It's ok and you are more than welcome, I love you too. I'll speak to you later." Naomi said as she hung up the phone._

_Emily bounced across the room and practically floated down the stairs to greet her maternal Grandparents. She hugged them both tightly and wished them a Merry Christmas._

_Her Grandma noticed the necklace, "My that's pretty, where did you get it?"_

_Emily blushed slightly, "It's a Christmas present from my friend Naomi."_

_Her Grandad studied her for a moment causing the blush to deepen, "Hmmm, seems to be an expensive gift for just a friend to buy. Are you sure she's not your girlfriend?"_

_Jenna hit him on the arm, "Stop teasing her Dad. If Emily says she and Naomi are just good friends then we believe her."_

_Emily watched in exasperation as Rob, Jenna and her two grandparents burst out laughing. "What? We are just friends, she's not my girlfriend."_

_That set her Dad off even more, "Nice one love." He managed to say between guffaws._

_Katie entered the room with some drinks for her grandparents, "why is everyone laughing?"_

_Emily tutted, "They think it's hilarious that I said Naomi was just a friend of mine, especially as she bought me expensive jewellery for Christmas."_

_Katie gasped as she looked at the necklace, "Holy fuck Emsie, it's gorgeous."_

"_I know, it's an amazing present." Emily said indignantly. She noticed a frown appear on her twin's face, "What?"_

_Katie shrugged, "I bet you're even sorrier you only bought her a crappy book now."_

_Emily sighed, "Jeez, thanks Katie, that makes me feel so much better."_

* * *

Emily was brought back to the present by the sound of the front door slamming. She sighed as she continued to search for something she could get Naomi as an additional present. After what Katie said Emily became obsessed with the obvious mismatch in the gifts she and Naomi had exchanged, so much so it had impacted on their subsequent conversations. Emily had always been slightly embarrassed that she got it so wrong in terms of significance and also about her reaction which was exactly what she hated; she'd seemed an ungrateful cow when Naomi had spent all of her Christmas money on her. As a result the conversations were always slightly stilted and awkward. The last time she had spoken to the blonde was New Year's Eve to wish her a Happy New Year. There was so much background noise at both ends they didn't stay on long. Since then they'd exchanged a few texts but nothing more. Emily knew Naomi was back yesterday and she wanted to rush over to see her but she didn't want to go until she had a present to give her. Hence the as yet unfruitful internet search. It was also starting to worry her that Naomi hadn't been in contact either; she really hoped she hadn't screwed things up by reacting like she did.

The redhead heard the door open and when she turned around she found her twin entering the room, "Hey Katie, I'm glad you're back. I need some advice."

Katie looked her up and down, "Yeah, that tramp chic look is so last year."

"Fuck off, that's not what I was going to ask. I like these clothes." Emily replied indignantly.

Katie rolled her eyes, "Whatevs, so what did you want my advice on then?"

Emily sighed, "Well as you know I only bought Naomi a 'crappy book' for Christmas and she really pushed the boat out. I want to get her something else to make up for it but I'm drawing a blank."

"She was back yesterday right, have you seen her yet?" Katie asked.

Emily shook her head, "No, I don't want to see her until this present is sorted, why?"

Katie shrugged, "Dunno, Effy is round there now and she sent me a text saying Naomi was in a bit of a funny mood."

"Oh God, I hope she's not really pissed off with me." Emily said with a frown.

Katie looked at her strangely, "Why would she be pissed off with you?"

Emily stared back and tutted, "First off, the aforementioned crappy book versus the gorgeous necklace mismatch."

Katie snorted, "I don't think Naomi is that materialistic Ems."

"Katie, it's not about how much we spent, it's about Naomi treating this like it was special whereas I didn't, or not enough anyway." Emily said exasperatedly.

Katie raised her hands in surrender, "Alright, keep your vagina on. What else is there?"

The redhead sighed, "Well my reaction wasn't great either was it? I told her I couldn't accept it. I mean how unappreciative does that make me look?"

Katie snorted, "I've already told you only an insane person refuses a present like that."

Emily rolled her eyes, "Yeah Katie, you have been pretty vocal in your opinion. I just want to make it up to her and show her she's important to me too. That's why I need a great gift and that's why I need your help."

"Right budge up then." Katie said shuffling herself onto the computer chair so Emily nearly fell off.

"Jesus Katie, watch it." Emily said shoving her twin back.

Katie gave her the finger, "Listen bitch, do you want my help or not?"

Emily sighed, "Yes."

"Right, then get off the fucking chair and let me think." Katie replied.

Reluctantly Emily got off the chair and stood behind her sister. Katie sat with a furrowed brow for a while until she clicked her fingers and yelled, "Got it."

She quickly typed in a website address and clicked through a few links until she found what she was looking for.

"Ta da." She said with a flourish as she turned to Emily.

As Emily looked at the screen a smile spread across her face, "You, dear sister, are a bloody genius. Naomi loves David Guetta."

Katie beamed, "I know she does, he's one of her and Effy's favourites. There's the added bonus of a weekend in Manchester too."

Emily paused as her hand hovered over the keyboard, "Shall I get four tickets and then you and Effy can come too?"

She turned her head towards Katie and was surprised to see her sister had tears in her eyes, "Katie, what's the matter?"

"I was going to get this as a present for Effy but I chickened out in the end." Katie said sadly.

"Why? It's a great present, so good I'm going to nick it." Emily said gently.

Katie pointed at the screen, "The concert's not until March Em."

Emily looked confused, "So? That's only a couple of months away."

Katie burst into tears, "That's the problem, I don't know if Effy and I will last until then. That's why I came to find you. Oh Em, I'm so confused and I really need your advice too."

Emily stared at her twin, Katie hardly ever asked for her advice. Her face softened as she saw Katie sniff and wipe the tears away from her cheeks. She leant down and hugged her tightly, "Hey it can't be that bad. Let's get a bit of privacy and go to our room."

Katie nodded and followed her from the room as she muttered, "Sorry and thanks."

Emily's eyes widened; Katie might hardly ever asked for advice but she never, ever apologised or said thank you.

_Jesus this must be serious_, Emily thought as she closed the door and sat next to her twin on her bed.

* * *

Meanwhile across Bristol Naomi and Effy were sat with their arms folded, glaring at each other.

Finally Naomi broke the silence, "So this is how we're going to spend the rest of the day?"

Effy shrugged, "I don't really give a shit. I came round to see you and you've been a total cow the whole time."

"I've been a cow?" Naomi said incredulously, "I'm not the one in a foul mood."

Effy curled her lip, "If you tell me I'm in a bad mood one more time, I swear Naomi, I'll punch the fuck out of you."

Naomi snorted, "Clearly I was wrong and you're in a great mood, sorry for the misunderstanding."

"Why have you always got to be such a sarcastic bitch?" Effy asked.

"Dunno, you seem to bring it out in me." Naomi sneered back.

Effy stood up, "You know what? Go fuck yourself. I haven't seen you for over a week and I thought it might be nice to just hang out for a change, you know like we used to, but it's obvious you just want to run over and see Emily. So I'll go and you can fuck off to your girlfriend, oh no sorry she's not your girlfriend, your new best friend's house."

Naomi watched Effy make her way to the door before she said quietly, "I don't want to see Emily, well I do but I'm not sure she wants to see me."

Effy stopped at the blonde's words and turned back, "What are you on about? Of course Emily wants to see you. She's hardly stopped talking about you while you've been away."

Naomi looked doubtful, "I think I might have come on too strong with the Christmas present and scared her off."

Effy sat back down and stared at her friend, "Is that why you've been so antsy?"

Naomi sighed, "Yeah, sorry if I've been a bitch, it's not your fault. We had a totally fine conversation on Christmas day, well it was a bit odd because I was so nervous and Em seemed genuinely shocked at the gift. After that it all went a bit weird, every time we spoke it was like Emily couldn't wait to get off the phone, it was really awkward."

"Naoms, I'm sure Emily didn't mean it to be. She really loves the necklace, she hasn't taken it off since Christmas day and she's always stroking it, even when she doesn't realise." Effy said kindly.

Naomi frowned, "So why is she avoiding me then?"

Effy shrugged, "I didn't realise she was. Have you spoken to her since you got back?"

The blonde shook her head, "The last time we spoke was New Year's Eve and I could hardly hear anything. Since then we've exchanged a couple of texts but I haven't had the guts to ring her or go round. I don't want her to tell me this is all a big mistake."

Effy raised her eyebrow, "So you haven't spoken to her but she's the one avoiding you? Don't you think it might seem to Emily that it's the other way round?"

Naomi shrugged, "I suppose so but seriously Eff she's been so strange with me, I just know there's something wrong."

"Oh for fuck's sake Naomi, instead of being so melodramatic wouldn't it be better to just talk to Emily?" Effy said with a smile.

The brunette watched as her friend paused, Naomi was clearly deciding whether to say something else. Effy waited patiently until the silence clearly got to the blonde.

"I think Emily might have got together with Melissa over New Year." Naomi blurted out.

Effy burst out laughing, "Why on earth do you think that?"

The blonde blushed, "When we were on the phone I could hear Melissa in the background. Emily wasn't really chatty and then she said she had to go."

Effy shook her head, "Naoms, Emily loves you, not Melissa. I admit she was hanging around with us at the club but honestly Em was irritated by it not finding it a massive turn on. She was trying to shake Melissa off all night."

"So they didn't kiss at midnight or anything?" Naomi asked.

It was now Effy's turn to blush, "I'm, err, not sure. I doubt it though."

Naomi stared at her, "What happened Eff?"

"Honestly Naomi, nothing happened, I'm certain of it. Emily wouldn't do that to you." Effy replied.

Naomi looked at her strangely, "So how come you weren't sure before?"

Effy paused and chewed her lip before sighing loudly, "I can't be 100% sure because I didn't see Emily at midnight, ok?"

"Why not? You all always get together to see in the New Year, it's one of the things that makes me jealous I can't be there." Naomi stated.

Effy closed her eyes and exhaled slowly, "Well this year was different, because I have a girlfriend alright?"

A smile slowly spread across Naomi's face, "So where were you and your _girlfriend_ at midnight? Sharing a romantic kiss somewhere quiet?"

Effy opened her eyes and reddened, "No, we were fucking in the toilets. The stroke of twelve has a whole new meaning now."

Naomi burst out laughing and shook her head, "Jesus Christ Eff, I can't believe you broke a long standing tradition just to get your end away. Even Cook upholds that custom, mainly because you threaten him if he doesn't."

Effy's shoulders sagged, "I know, I know, I'm a massive hypocrite. I just want to keep things exciting between Katie and me, although I'm not sure it's working."

"What do you mean?" Naomi asked growing serious.

Effy sighed and said sadly, "I think she's going to break up with me."

Naomi snorted, "Why would she do that? You guys were getting along great the last time I saw you together."

The brunette shrugged, "I thought that too but I've felt her pulling away for a while now. I just get the feeling that she's changed her mind and being with a girl isn't what she wants."

"Is this the famous Stonem intuition or is there something more concrete?" Naomi said gently.

Effy smiled ruefully, "There's nothing definite, it's more of a feeling I have that she's not that into me anymore. When we have sex it's like she's going through the motions and I worry the whole time she's thinking about blokes."

Naomi furrowed her brow, "Look Eff, I know it's natural to be anxious about that, Katie was the self proclaimed 'straightest girl in the world' after all, but she's with you now and from what I've seen she's totally ok with it. Have you actually talked to her about any of this?"

Effy shook her head, "I'm too scared to in case it's true."

Naomi raised her eyebrow, "Wouldn't it be better if you took your own advice and discussed it?"

Effy stared at her hands, "I really like her, what if Katie finishes things?"

Naomi sighed, "At least you'll know for certain then, it's got to be better than torturing yourself with things that might not be true. Why don't you take her out for dinner or something?"

Effy looked up, "What like on a date?"

Naomi nodded, "Why don't you go to that steakhouse in town, it's really good and quite small. At least you'll have some privacy and be able to talk things through."

Finally the brunette smiled, "We've never been on a proper date before, we always just hang out at each other's houses."

Naomi smiled back, "There you go, first time for everything yeah?"

Effy picked up her phone and quickly sent a text before she changed her mind. She kept staring at the phone, willing a reply to come. After a while she started to panic.

"Oh Jesus, I knew that was a mistake. Naomi you know I don't do dates, why did you let me suggest it? I told you she was going off me and that's probably the final nail in the coffin. Oh shit, oh shit, it's all gone tits up, why the fuck did I think I could do relationships?" Effy babbled.

Naomi grabbed her by the shoulders, "Calm down and give Katie time to reply. I'm sure she'll say yes and everything will be fine."

Effy's breathing slowed, "Sorry, this just makes me really nervous."

The blonde smiled, "No, really? I couldn't tell."

"Don't Naoms, I'm shitting myself. Will you help me?" Effy said.

Naomi tutted, "Of course I'll help, although it might be a bit like the blind leading the blind. My love life is hardly any less complicated at the moment."

"Maybe I can help with that. If I'm going to do this properly, I'll need to pick Katie up. You should come too for moral support. That way after we've gone out you and Emily can talk as well." Effy said with a smile

Naomi frowned, "I'm not sure Eff..."

"Please Naoms, you said you'd help me. Having you there would mean a lot, I might be less nervous then." Effy pleaded.

Naomi shrugged, she'd have to face Emily at some point, "Alright, I'll come with you."

"And you promise you'll talk to Emily?" Effy added.

Naomi rolled her eyes, "Yes Effy, I'll talk to Emily. Now don't you have a date to be panicking about?"

Naomi smiled slightly as the colour started to drain from Effy's face as the alarm returned, _well at least I'll have something to distract me all afternoon_, the blonde thought as she tried to hide her own nerves about the conversation she had to have with Emily.

* * *

Emily sat on the bed and waited patiently for Katie to begin. She had rarely seen her twin so unsure of herself, normally she was Katie fucking Fitch and woe betide anyone who forgot that. Now she looked vulnerable and Emily wondered what had happened with Effy to cause such a change. _If she's hurt her in any way I'm going to fucking kill her_, Emily thought protectively. She and Katie might bicker incessantly but that didn't mean they weren't close. She smiled encouragingly as Katie looked up and seemed to be about to speak.

"I fucking hate this you know?" Katie said defiantly.

Emily frowned, "Hate what?"

Katie snorted, "Having to ask you for advice about my bloody love life, it's humiliating. I'm Katie Fitch for Christ's sake, I've shagged more people than you've had hot dinners."

Emily shrugged, "Wow, that's something to be so proud of. I'm Katie Fitch, total slut. Anyway, you might have shagged plenty of blokes but not as many women as me."

Katie glared at her, "I know that, which is why I want to talk to you. It's still embarrassing though."

"Well then don't bother. It's not like it's something I really need to do either. I've got enough on my plate without adding in a conversation where all you do is insult me." Emily said rising from the bed.

She stopped when Katie grabbed her arm, "Look Ems, I'm sorry. I just find this really difficult both because I've never really had a proper relationship with anyone, male or female, before and also because what I want to ask you is a bit uncomfortable. I really do want your help though as I know you're a lot better than me at these things."

Emily sat back down, "How can I refuse after that heartfelt plea? What do you want to talk about?"

Katie coughed, "Err, well I was just wondering, if it's not too personal, which it might be and that's fine..."

Emily raised her eyebrow, she'd never seen Katie stammer like this, it was like being with JJ. "Katie, just ask me whatever it is you want."

Katie took a deep breath, "What's a normal amount of sex, you know for girls, with other girls?"

Emily tried to hide her smile, "You can just use the term lesbians Katie, it's a lot quicker. It's the same as a straight relationship Katie, normal is different for everybody."

"If you're just going to take the piss then I won't carry on." Katie said indignantly.

Emily held her hands up, "Sorry, I wasn't taking the piss honestly. But I was being truthful, normal is whatever you're happy with."

"What if you're not happy with the amount of sex you're having?" Katie asked unsurely.

Emily looked surprised, "You and Effy seem to have sex quite a bit, you're always staying over her house and sodding off to the toilets when we're out."

Katie sighed, "That's just the problem, I can't keep her off me."

Emily laughed, "Jesus Christ K, I think a lot of people would like to have that sort of problem. Aren't you flattered?"

Her twin frowned, "Don't get me wrong it's nice on one level that Effy wants me so much but I'm scared that's all it's about for her, you know that we're just fuck buddies really? A bit like with you and Joanne."

Emily thought about her first girlfriend. They met through friends of friends and had got on pretty well from the beginning. There wasn't a lot of chemistry though but they decided as they were both virgins they might as well help each other out by sleeping together, it would be a lot less embarrassing than with a total stranger. They had been wrong about that though. They decided to have a couple of vodkas to calm their nerves but got a bit carried away; in the end they were so drunk it was a bloody disaster. They nearly didn't try again as they were both awkward after the last time but eventually raging hormones won out. Emily smiled as she thought back, _it's a bloody good job we persevered as I would have missed out on some seriously enjoyable sex._

"I know things carried on longer with Joanne than they should, we didn't really have very much in common at all but it was the first time I'd ever had sex and having it on tap was too good to pass up. But it's different for you and Effy, you were already friends before you slept together." Emily replied.

"It doesn't really feel like we're mates anymore. We hardly seem to talk about anything and we don't just hang out, as soon as I get over to her house she whisks me upstairs and we screw." Katie said with a sigh.

The redhead was about to make a sarcastic comment when she saw how upset Katie was, she remembered back to how she had felt in Cyprus when Naomi had acted like she didn't care Emily was there. "Have you talked to her about it?"

Katie shook her head, "I'm too afraid she'll say it's all true, that all she wants is sex from me. You know how much she hates the thought of having a relationship because of the state of her parents' marriage. Maybe my expectations are all wrong, that's why I wanted to find out if it was always like this with lesbians. What's wrong with going on a fucking date once in a while?"

Emily burst out laughing, "Oh my God, I need to remember this. Katie Fitch moaning about having too much sex and longing for a date, you've hardly ever been on a date in your life."

Katie frowned, "It's not funny Em, I really like Effy but I'm not sure I want to be in a relationship with her if all we do is shag."

Emily smiled at her, "Then you need to tell her how you feel. If you don't it'll eat away at you and you'll end up having a massive row about it."

They both jumped as Katie's phone beeped. She sighed as she saw it was from Effy, "That'll be my booty call."

Her thumb hovered over the delete button but Emily persuaded her to read it first. The redhead watched as a confused look passed over her twin's face.

"What's the matter?" Emily asked.

Katie passed her the phone, "What the fuck?"

Emily read the message.

_Hi. I was hoping you were free tonight, I think we said we'd meet up so I'm assuming you are. I thought you might like to go out for dinner for a change? Let me know. Eff x_

"What do you think it means?" Katie asked nervously.

Emily smiled, "I think it means you've just got that date you were after."

Katie shook her head, "Seriously Em, why has Effy asked me to dinner? Oh my God do you think she's going to break up with me and she wants to do it in a public place so I don't make a fuss? The fucking bitch, she should know by now I couldn't give a stuff where I am I'll still cause a scene. I'll show her no one dumps Katie Fitch and gets away with it."

Emily rolled her eyes, "Katie! Stop going off on one. Why don't you text back and ask her what the occasion is?"

Katie calmed down and eventually sent a text back.

_Is this a date?_

She bit her thumbnail as she waited for the reply, almost immediately her phone beeped again.

_Yes, is that ok? I've booked the steakhouse in town for eight o'clock but can cancel it if you don't want to go. x_

Katie stared at the message, the only thought going through her brain was why? So that's the next question she asked. She looked nervously at her phone as it began to ring.

Eventually she answered. "Hello."

"_What do you mean why?" Effy asked her._

Katie paused, "I just mean why? What's the reason you've asked me to dinner?"

"_It's a date Katie, that's what people do on dates. Haven't you ever been on one?" Effy said exasperatedly._

Katie snorted, "Not really Eff, and never with you so that's why I'm suspicious."

_Effy sighed, "I know we've never been on a proper date before that's why I thought you might like dinner. I thought it would be a chance for us to talk a bit, you know catch up on gossip and that sort of stuff. Don't worry, I'll call them back and cancel the reservation."_

"No wait, don't cancel. If it's a chance for us to talk, I'd love to have dinner with you. What time shall I meet you?" Katie replied.

"_I want to do this properly Katie, so I'll pick you up at your house at seven ok? Naomi is heading over too." Effy said._

Katie smiled, "Alright, I'll see you at seven."

She hung up and turned excitedly to Emily, "It's a proper, normal date. How spooky is that?"

Emily shrugged, "This is Effy we're talking about, she probably picked up the vibes from the atmosphere or something."

Katie pushed her, "Don't be stupid. Oh and Naomi is coming over as well so you'd better go and get those tickets. Make it four, as I have a feeling things might be ok between Effy and me after all."

Emily nodded, "Will do. I can't wait to see Naomi's face when I give her the present, maybe she'll forgive me for being such a prick then. Do you want me to come back afterwards and help you choose what to wear?"

Katie looked at her before bursting out laughing, "My God you were being serious. I might have to ask you about being a muff muncher Em, but honestly as if I'd ever get fashion advice from you."

_Well at least the confident Katie is back in the building_, Emily thought with a sigh before a sly smile spread across her face, she'd thought of the perfect comeback.

"Ok I'll see you downstairs later. By the way Katie, what are you planning on telling Mum and Dad? They still think Effy's just a friend of yours don't they?" Emily said sweetly.

She watched as Katie stopped laughing and she turned a funny shade of green, "Oh God, I'm going to have to come out to them aren't I?"

"It would seem appropriate as Effy is picking you up, unless you want to dash out of the front door as soon as she gets here." Emily replied.

Katie looked at her wildly, "I've changed my mind, come back after you've bought the tickets. You have to help me out Em."

Emily smiled, "I'll only help you if I get to choose what you're wearing tonight."

Katie initially looked startled but Emily could see her mulling over her options in her mind, eventually her eyes narrowed, "Fine it's a deal."

Emily laughed as she left the room, she loved getting one over on Katie.

She had just finished buying the tickets and was printing out the receipt to give to Naomi when she decided to check out facebook while she was here, she'd let Katie sweat for a bit longer. She logged in and was scrolling through the latest status updates when she gasped. Naomi was now friends with someone called Lottie and there had been a message exchange between them.

**Naomi Campbell. **Is hacked off at being back in the Bristol rain again instead of the warmth of Tenerife.

**Lottie Judd**. Ha ha that's funny. You hardly surfaced before sundown.

**Naomi Campbell. **Well you shouldn't have kept me up all night then.

**Lottie Judd **Come on babe, we had a ball. ;) By the way have you got that problem sorted yet?

Naomi had yet to reply but it still made Emily feel sick. She checked her watch, it was nearly five o'clock so Naomi wouldn't be round for a couple of hours yet. Was she the problem? Was it her Naomi had to sort out? Is that why she hadn't been in touch? She walked back to the bedroom in a daze as hundreds of scenarios played out in her head, none of them particularly pleasant. She shook herself and focused on helping Katie, she would just have to wait to find out who the fuck this Lottie was, why she thought it was ok to call _her_ girlfriend 'babe' and what the hell she was doing with Naomi that kept them up all night.


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N: I know, I know it's been ages since I updated and I am really sorry. Work has been mad, I've been travelling a lot and had busy weekends but it all seems like a bit of a lame excuse. I really ****hope people will still stick with this as I've got back into it again after feeling a bit rusty.**

**As ever thank you for reading, alerting and especially the reviews. I always appreciate you all taking the time out of your day to do any of the three things.**

**I know the last chapter was an angst fest and that frustrated some people so hopefully this is better, although there are still some 'just bash their heads together' moments I hope it works out in the end. The next few chapters are going to be non angsty apart from how Naomi and Emily cope with their 'go slow' agreement - so frustrating in a different way!**

**So at last the two couples finally realise things are better is they just TALK to each other and we get to find out who the mysterious Lottie is (if anyone can remember/still cares!)**

**Hope it's worth the wait.**

* * *

Naomi stood nervously outside Emily's front door as she checked her watch. It was a quarter to seven and she'd just received a text from Effy saying she was on her way. The brunette had insisted Naomi went over earlier as she wanted her friend to be in and settled when she finally arrived to pick Katie up. Naomi's hand hovered over the bell again as it had done twice previously.

_This is bloody ridiculous_, the blonde thought as she finally rang the bell. Naomi jumped as the door opened almost immediately and Jenna ushered her inside.

"Good God Naomi, I wondered how much longer you were going to loiter outside the front door. It was almost painful." Jenna stated with a roll of her eyes.

Naomi shrugged, "Sorry about that, I got a bit lost in thought."

Jenna eyed her sceptically, "Hmmm, there seems to be a lot of that going on around here at the moment. Emily's upstairs helping Katie get ready, I understand she's got some sort of date, although they're both being cagey about it. Do you know who the lucky man is?"

Naomi coughed, "Er, no idea about the lucky man at all. So how was your Christmas Jenna?"

_Oh for God's sake, not another one who's avoiding answering questions and rapidly changing the subject,_ Jenna thought with a sigh.

"Christmas was really lovely. I'm sure Emily told you my parents were here?" she replied.

Naomi nodded, "Yeah she mentioned it when we talked."

Jenna noticed Naomi's face cloud over slightly when she spoke, "So how about you? Did you enjoy the sun?"

The blonde shrugged, "It was good thanks. I tended to stay up late and sleep in, but we always have a good time when we go away at Christmas."

Naomi turned as she heard a voice mutter, "Yeah, I bet you do."

The blonde smiled nervously as Emily made her way into the kitchen. "Hi Em, how are you?"

The smile faded slightly when the redhead shrugged and mumbled something before glaring at her.

_Oh God, I knew I was right, she's totally avoiding me_, Naomi thought.

Jenna picked up on the slightly uneasy atmosphere, "I was just going to tell Naomi how sorry Gran and Grandad were that they didn't get to meet her."

The blonde looked confused, "Really? I wouldn't have thought they'd even know who I was."

Jenna laughed, "Well, you made quite an impression with Emily's Christmas present and she does talk about you quite a lot."

Emily shot a look at her Mum before starting to blush, "Jesus, could you be any more embarrassing? You make me sound like a right idiot."

Jenna was about to reply when the doorbell went, "I'll get it, I expect this is Katie's young man."

Emily and Naomi stared at each other awkwardly until the redhead broke the silence, "This should be fun, when Mum realises that Katie's 'young man' is in fact a young woman."

Naomi nodded, "Yeah, a young woman who has been inviting her daughter over for quite a few 'sleepovers' recently."

In spite of herself Emily giggled, "Katie's a mess, how's Effy?"

The blonde smiled, "Totally shitting herself. I bet you're glad there's none of this complicated stuff where we're concerned."

The redhead frowned, "Yeah, it's great. We just keep it light and simple. No muss, no fuss."

Naomi saw her opportunity, "Do you mind if I hang about for a while afterwards? There's something I wanted to talk to you about, something to do with us."

Emily gulped, "Sure we can talk, but can we wait until we're on our own?"

The blonde nodded, "Of course, this isn't something I'd want to discuss in front of anyone. I think they're coming, should we try to look casual or something?"

_So I was right, I am the problem she needs to sort out. _The redhead thought sadly as they hastily sat down and tried to look nonchalant.

* * *

Jenna led Effy back towards the kitchen, she had been surprised to see the brunette the other side of the door but thought that Katie had asked as many of her friends to be here to support her as possible. The fact that Katie was going on a date in the first place was a big shock and the fact that a welcoming committee had started to gather was only making the identity of her daughter's date more intriguing. Effy was carrying a flower and seemed incredibly nervous.

"You look lovely Effy, are you going somewhere nice?" Jenna asked in an attempt to make small talk to calm the obvious nerves of the usually unflappable girl next to her.

Effy gulped, "Thanks, we're going to the steakhouse in town."

Jenna paused, "I think Emily said Katie was going there. Oh I see, is this a double date then?"

Effy looked confused, "Er no, it's a normal date."

Jenna looked puzzled as they entered the kitchen, "Ems, didn't you say Katie was going to the steakhouse in town? Effy was just saying that's where she's going too, isn't that a coincidence?"

Emily tried to hide her smile, clearly her Mum hadn't caught up yet, "Hmmm, yeah it's a small world isn't it."

Naomi glanced at her friend who raised her eyebrows questioningly. The blonde leaned over to Emily.

"I'm assuming Katie hasn't told your parents who her date is yet?" she whispered.

Emily shook her head, "Not yet, we decided the 'surprise them and leave quickly' tactic was best. That way they can have some time to digest it properly and it doesn't have as big an impact on Effy and Katie's night."

Naomi looked shocked, "Do you think they'll have a problem with it?"

Emily shook her head again, "Of course not, but it is going to be a bolt from the blue to find out their 'straight' daughter is shagging one of her close female friends."

They heard footsteps on the stairs and fell silent as Katie entered the room. She smiled shyly as Effy walked over and presented her with the flower.

"This is for you, it's an orchid. This variety can be a bit spiky but beautiful if it's nurtured." The brunette said unsurely.

Katie's smile broadened as she accepted the flower, "Thank you, it's lovely. I'll put it in some water and then we should probably go."

Jenna watched the exchange in confusion, "Katie, what's going on?"

Katie's eyes nervously flitted towards Emily, who gave a reassuring nod of her head. Meanwhile Naomi smiled at Effy who had gone pale.

"Mum, can you get Dad please? There's something I want to tell you." Katie stated.

Jenna went to the back door and called into the garden, "ROB, can you come here for a minute. Katie wants to talk to us."

After a few minutes had elapsed a sweaty looking Rob entered the kitchen, he poked his head back outside, "Now boy, don't go easy while I'm away, I can still see you. 10, 11, 12..." He turned to the assembled group with a smile, "Honestly girls your brother is never going to be a champion athlete if he keeps trying to get out of our keep fit sessions."

Emily rolled her eyes, "Dad, the only thing he's going to be a champion in is perving and sticking his nose into people's private business."

Rob tutted, "Come on now Emily, I thought we agreed to forgive and forget. James was punished for spying on you in the shower."

The redhead sighed, "Clearly not enough as I caught him trying to do the same to Katie earlier."

"Ahem, can we focus here please?" Katie said sharply.

"Sorry, carry on" Emily mumbled back.

Rob folded his arms "So where's this mystery date then Katiekins, I want to give him my speech and make sure he's good enough for my little girl."

Katie cleared her throat, "Dad, Mum, I want you to be ok with this because it's the first time I've ever liked someone enough to want a proper relationship. I know you'll like them if you give this a chance because they're really great, they're funny and clever, they're kind and I love being with them."

As she was talking the dark haired twin walked across the room and took the brunette's hand, she squeezed it reassuringly as she heard a gulp next to her "You already know my date, it's Effy, in fact we've been seeing each other for a while now."

Jenna quickly glanced at Emily and then over to Rob before her gaze rested on the two nervous looking girls in front of her.

"You and Effy? You're... together?" Jenna asked.

Katie bit her lip and nodded.

Rob folded his arms and began to shake his head, "No, no, no. This isn't right, it upsets everything. Emily is the gay twin, you're straight, you can't just switch teams now."

Both Emily and Katie's mouths fell open.

Naomi had remained quiet throughout the exchange but couldn't help herself, "Oh come on Rob, don't you think you're being a bit unfair."

Jenna held her hands up, "Sorry Naomi but the agreement was one gay, one straight and a totally perverted one. Emily has already had dibs on the gay, James is a shoe in for the perv so Katie doesn't have a choice, she has to be the straight one I'm afraid."

"Although we could swap the bisexual fourth child for Katie and make kid number four the straight one?" Rob added as the corners of his mouth began to twitch.

Katie exhaled and hit her Dad on the arm, "That was a fucking horrible thing to do. I was really nervous about telling you both and all you can do is take the piss."

Emily shook her head, "Jesus Christ you two, that was just downright mean. You're supposed to be the adults here."

Jenna had the grace to look sheepish, "Sorry Katie, but honestly sweetheart why were you nervous?"

Katie shrugged, "I know you're fine with Em being gay but it was hardly a shock was it?"

"Hey, just because I hadn't shown much interest in boys it didn't automatically mean I liked girls. I could have been a late developer." Emily protested.

Rob laughed, "Love, you have seen your half of your bedroom right? I don't think Audrey Hepburn is up there because you admire her acting ability..."

Emily blushed, "Actually I do think she's a great actress but alright maybe it was really obvious I was gay. But Katie's never showed any interest in women at all, exactly the opposite in fact, so why aren't you more surprised?"

Katie smiled gratefully at her sister, she knew Em would cut to the chase. That was exactly what she wanted to know too, deep down she hadn't expected her parents to freak out but she did expect them to be a bit shocked, at least at first.

Jenna glanced over at Rob who shrugged at her. She turned back to her daughter.

"To be honest, I was over at Gina's a few weeks ago and Effy's Mum popped in. We got chatting and the subject of how much time you were spending with each other cropped up." Jenna began.

Effy narrowed her eyes, "And how exactly did it crop up?"

Jenna coughed, "Well your Mum mentioned the fact that you spent most of your time shut away in your room..."

Effy snorted, "Oh great, she's always interfering, why can't she just mind her own bloody business."

Katie placed her hand on the brunette's arm, "Eff, I'm sure your Mum didn't mean anything by it."

"I told you she was up to something didn't I? Remember all those questions over breakfast about what we were doing? Just because she's got some fucked up relationship with my Dad she thinks she can stick her nose in to my love life..." Effy began to rant.

Katie cupped Effy's face in her hands before leaning in and kissing her. After a few seconds Effy relaxed and kissed her back. Finally they pulled apart.

"Although it's very cute when you get into a frenzy, I don't like seeing you get upset." Katie said gently.

Effy smiled, "I like the way you always know what to do to calm me down."

Their tender moment was interrupted by Rob's voice, "Well girls that's very sweet but Effy you need to come with me, we have some serious business to attend to."

Effy turned sharply and realised he wasn't joking. She glanced over towards Naomi and tried to convey an S.O.S message, but it was in vain.

"There's no need to look at Naomi like that, she's coming too. If you're going to date my little girls then we need to have _the_ talk." Rob said definitively.

Naomi began to protest, "But Em and I aren't together, we're just friends..."

Rob tutted "Please Naomi don't insult me, nobody believes that bollocks, and you know it." He rolled his eyes at Jenna, "Honestly love, do they think we we're born yesterday? Come on you two."

Naomi and Effy both gulped before following Rob from the room.

Katie turned to Emily with a frightened look "You've been in this situation before, what does he say to them?"

Emily looked equally as anxious, "I'm not sure, none of my previous girlfriends have ever elaborated. Put it this way Katie, based on my experience most of the conversation is going to come from you tonight as Effy will be too traumatised."

Jenna laughed, "Come on girls, your Dad's not that bad. Now while he's intimidating Effy and Naomi, why don't you tell me exactly what's going on."

Emily looked at Katie and sighed, "I supposed we need to do something to pass the time."

Jenna went over to the fridge and poured three glasses of wine, she set them down on the worktop before settling on a stool "Right Katie let's begin with you. The first thing I want to know, is how on earth my incredibly straight daughter suddenly decided she wanted to be more like her twin sister."

Katie rolled her eyes before taking a large gulp of wine. _I'm going to need a lot more alcohol to get through this_, she thought with a sigh as she took a deep breath and began filling her Mum in on how she and Effy got together.

* * *

Rob smiled sweetly at the two girls as he held open the door and ushered them into the lounge.

Naomi shot a look of panic at Effy who looked at her girlfriend's Dad nervously before she entered the room. The blonde followed closely behind and they quickly sat down on one of the sofas.

"Come on now ladies there's no need to look quite so frightened." Rob said in a voice that sent chills up and down their spine.

"Look Rob, I know this might be quite a surprise and everything..." Effy began but she was quickly silenced by Rob's glare.

He shook his head, "Oh no girls, this isn't how this works. You don't speak unless I tell you to. I'll do all the talking, ok?"

They both mutely nodded.

"Did either of my beautiful girls ever tell you about our holiday to Cornwall when they were thirteen?" Rob questioned.

Two shakes of the head.

Rob sat on the sofa opposite them, "I suppose I shouldn't be surprised as they probably don't think it was that important. Honestly you should have seen the pair of them when they were younger, absolute cutie pies they were. I know every parent always thinks their own kids are the most beautiful, the most talented and the most special children in the world but in our case it wasn't just Jenna and me that thought so other people commented too. They were the apple of my eye."

He paused to make sure he still had the rapt attention of the blonde and brunette sitting opposite him, satisfied they were still listening he continued.

"So anyway our main summer holiday was two weeks on a caravan park in Cornwall. There were always plenty of other kids around for them to make friends with but they'd both hit puberty and were attracting a lot of male attention, especially Katie, who acted and looked a lot older and seemed to revel in the advances. One night the park was holding a disco and they begged to go, I wanted to say no but Jenna persuaded me it was ok. So off they went but I was still uneasy so I followed them down later and do you know what I found when I got there?"

Effy and Naomi shook their heads again.

Rob paused for effect, "Katie was sat outside the hall with Emily comforting her. She was crying. Naturally I wanted to know what had upset my precious girl and she explained that she really liked this lad and thought he liked her too. But he ended up dancing all night with an older girl and ignoring her. Do you know what I did?"

The pair looked at each other with puzzled expressions before quietly muttering "No."

Rob sat back and folded his arms, he narrowed his eyes, "I went inside the disco and got Katie to point this lad out to me. I walked over to where he was dancing with the older girl and I grabbed him by the scruff of the neck and dragged him outside. I was really angry at this point so I pulled him over to the edge of the cliff the park was on and dangled him upside down over the sea below and I taught him he should treat all women, but especially my daughter, with some respect."

Again the protective father paused, he lowered his voice until it was a barely audible whisper, "From that day forward I decided I would do anything to protect my girls from being hurt in relationships, and I mean anything, as Jenna says I love them like fierce. So if you don't treat them well or hurt them in any way, I will hunt you down like dogs and I will make sure any pain you've caused my girls will be sent back to you a million fold. Do I make myself clear?"

Rob was greeted by two pairs of blue eyes widening in shock before they both nodded.

"I didn't quite catch that." Rob said menacingly.

"Hmm, yeah, very clear." muttered Naomi.

"Cr. cr..crystal clear." Effy stammered

Rob suddenly smiled, "Right then Effy I don't want to make you late for dinner with Katie so we'd better go back into the other room. I'm glad we had this chat girls, it's always good to make your expectations as unambiguous as possible. Oh and by the way, don't mention any of this to Em or Katie eh? Let's keep it to ourselves."

Effy was totally thrown by the sudden change in demeanour, "Yeah, ok Rob, we won't say anything."

As they left the room Naomi leaned over to Effy, "Jesus Christ, talk about over protective. That was scary as fuck."

Effy nodded, "I know, I really hope Katie and I can sort this out because I really don't fancy being hunted down like a dog."

_I hope Em forgives me because I don't fancy being hunted down either. _Naomi thought with a sigh as she followed her friend back into the kitchen.

* * *

Jenna, Katie and Emily looked up as Rob re-entered the room. Katie shot her twin a distressed look as she saw a very pale and clearly shell shocked Effy and Naomi follow him.

"Is everything ok?" Katie asked her girlfriend gently.

Effy nodded, "Fine."

Katie looked at Emily who shrugged back at her.

"So we'd better get going." Katie prompted.

Effy nodded.

Katie looked at her Dad, "Jesus Christ, what did you say to them?"

Rob smiled, "Nothing love, we just had a nice chat didn't we girls?"

Katie tutted as both Effy and Naomi nodded enthusiastically. She grabbed Effy's hand and led her from the room mumbling. After a short time they heard the front door slam.

"Right I'd better get back to James." Rob said as he made his way to the back door.

"Hmmm, I've got some reading to catch up on in the lounge, so we'll leave you two alone to talk." Jenna said pointedly looking at her daughter.

Once they were alone the uncomfortable silence returned. Neither girl wanted to be the one to break it in case the conversation headed in a direction they were dreading. Eventually Emily broke the tension.

"Do you want a drink?" she said. _I need alcohol to get through this_, she thought.

Naomi nodded, "Please." _Maybe wine will lessen the pain_.

Emily poured two glasses of wine, "So I guess we need to talk?" _Please don't tell me you've met someone else._

Naomi took a sip of her drink, "Yeah I guess so, do you want to go first?" _Please don't tell me you've got back with Melissa._

The redhead shook her head, "No it's ok you brought it up." _You won't want to go to Manchester with me to see David Guetta after you've ended things._

Naomi sighed, "Look Em, there's something I want to say and I'd appreciate it if I could do it without you interrupting ok?"

Emily nodded and prepared herself.

The blonde took a deep breath, "I'm really sorry for the Christmas present. At the time I thought I was doing something nice but on reflection I can see that it might have looked a bit like I was taking over and stealing your thunder. I had no right to do something like that but can't we talk things through? Please don't get back with Melissa."

_Eh?_ Emily blinked and continued to stare at Naomi with a puzzled look on her face.

"Please Em, just talk to me. I'm sorry if I came on too strong and scared you off. I don't know what else to say." Naomi pleaded.

Emily shook herself, "Why would I get back with Melissa?"

Naomi shrugged, "Well you went all weird after Christmas and I heard her on New Year's Eve."

A sudden realisation dawned on Emily, "Oh my God, you thought I was avoiding you because I was freaking out about your present?"

Naomi bit her lip and nodded.

Emily began to laugh, "Naomi, I love my necklace, it's honestly the nicest thing anyone has ever given me. That's not the reason I didn't want to speak to you."

"So I wasn't imagining it then? You were avoiding me?" Naomi asked nervously.

Emily nodded, "Yeah, but not because I was afraid you were coming on too strong, idiot. I was embarrassed. You'd gone to so much trouble and got me this amazing gift and all I got you was a book. I didn't want to see you until I'd got you something to make up for it."

She handed the blonde the printout.

Naomi stared at the paper and then looked up in surprise, "David Guetta in Manchester?"

Emily nodded, "Katie and Effy are coming too, we thought we could make a weekend of it."

"Oh wow Em, this is amazing. Thank you so much, but honestly you didn't need too." Naomi responded.

Emily turned red, "Like I said I wanted to redress the imbalance in our presents."

"Em I've already told you the book was amazingly thoughtful and it'll be brilliant when I get to Uni. In fact it's already been really useful." Naomi replied.

Emily smiled, "Yeah? How come?"

"Some of the essays in there are fantastic and gave me loads of ammunition to win my arguments with Lottie." The blonde stopped as she saw Emily's face cloud over, "What?"

Emily sighed, "It's ok I know about Lottie, I saw your exchange on Facebook."

It was now Naomi's turn to look puzzled, "Em, I still don't get what's wrong?"

"Was it just a holiday thing?" Emily asked quietly.

Naomi stared at her and then began to laugh, "Em, you think Lottie and I got together on holiday?"

Emily shrugged, "She did call you babe and you said she'd kept you up all night, what was I supposed to think?"

Naomi walked over to the redhead and gently lifted her chin "Emily, I love you. You're the only person I want to be with."

Emily still looked unsure, "So who is she then?"

"Lottie is a friend of my Mum's and is one of the people we usually go away with at Christmas. She's a university lecturer and she offered to help me rehearse for my entrance interviews, if I get any. We were up all night arguing about politics or history." Naomi explained.

Emily crinkled her nose, "So why have you only just become friends on Facebook then?"

_Fuck does she realise how cute she looks when she does that_, Naomi thought.

"She's an ageing hippy like my Mum so she resisted indulging in 'frivolous' things like social networking for as long as she could. But one day she thought she'd check out what the fuss was about and now she's addicted. My Mum nearly fell out with her because she'd 'sold out' and joined the moronic masses." Naomi said rolling her eyes.

Emily looked thoughtful, "So what's the problem you need to sort out? Is it to do with me?"

Naomi blushed, "Kind of, Lottie and I spent quite a bit of time talking about you too."

Emily smiled shyly, "Really? What sort of things did you say?"

Naomi shrugged, "At first it was mostly Lottie quizzing me, she found it hilarious that I was now into girls, well a girl. But she could see how crazy I was about you so then she was really curious about how we were coping with the whole go slow thing. She's a bit of a slapper and couldn't imagine being with someone and not ripping their clothes off."

"Naomi, we knew it was going to be hard for both of us but I thought we agreed..." Emily started.

The redhead was silenced by Naomi's lips covering her own, at first she tried to resist but it felt so good she couldn't help responding. Eventually Naomi pulled away and stared into Emily's eyes.

"There we go, problem solved." Naomi whispered.

Emily smiled, "That's it?"

Naomi nodded, "Kissing you is all I've been able to think about lately, I thought it might be time we moved on to the next stage in our relationship."

Emily's smile widened and she leaned up to kiss the blonde again. Just as their lips were about to meet they heard a noise coming from outside.

Emily grabbed Naomi's hand, "Come on let's go up to my room. I think it might be better if we continued to move things on in private don't you?"

* * *

Katie looked over to the other side of the table, Effy was staring off into the distance again. They'd already had their starters and the brunette had barely said two words since they'd arrived.

"You're quiet, is everything ok?" The twin asked tentatively.

When Effy didn't answer Katie reached over and gently took her hand making the brunette jump.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you. Are you ok?" Katie tried again.

Effy nodded, "I'm fine."

Katie sighed loudly, "Look Eff, you don't seem fine. What exactly did my Dad say to you? This time please don't fob me off with any of that 'he was just warning us to take care of you' crap."

Effy frowned, "If I could tell you I would but your Dad told us not to."

Katie snorted, "I don't really give a fuck if he did, you're my girlfriend and if he's upset you I want to know about it."

Effy's eyes widened, "I'm your what?"

Katie looked confused, "My girlfriend. I mean I know we haven't talked about it properly and it might scare you but isn't that what we are? I mean we're not just fuck buddies are we? Oh God I've got it all wrong haven't I? Now you're going to freak out and this is all going to go tits up. Why did I listen to Emily, I mean I never listen to Emily. Why couldn't I just keep my big mouth shut?"

Katie looked up to find Effy staring at her strangely, the brunette opened her mouth to speak but closed it again as the waiter came over with their steaks. Immediately Katie became fascinated by her food and refused to make eye contact.

"Katie, look at me please." Effy said gently.

The dark haired twin looked up into a pair of concerned blue eyes.

"What's with all the freaking out, isn't it supposed to be me that does that?" Effy questioned.

Katie shrugged, "Thought I'd try it for a change."

Effy sighed, "K, stop avoiding the question. What's the matter?"

Katie took a deep breath, "Right here goes nothing. Am I your girlfriend or am I just a fuck buddy?"

Effy paused, "You're definitely not just a fuck buddy..."

"But I'm not your girlfriend either." Katie finished for her.

Effy rolled her eyes, "Can you let me finish? I was going to say I hadn't really thought about it and we've never actually talked about it, but yeah, I suppose you are my girlfriend, if that's what you want to be."

Katie snorted, "Of course it's what I want to be, but is it what you want? You don't do relationships remember."

The brunette raised her eyebrow, "So what exactly have we been doing since the party?"

Katie played with her food, "I don't know, it just seems all we do anymore is have sex. We hardly talk or just hang out."

"I knew you'd changed your mind, I could feel you getting more and more distant. I knew you didn't want to be with me anymore. Oh God, it's not just me is it? I mean I really don't think I could cope if you went out with another woman. I'd get over it eventually if you've decided you don't like girls in that way but not if it was me you didn't like." Effy rambled.

Katie stared at her, "Christ Eff, where did all that come from? I've just told you I want to be your girlfriend as in woman in a relationship with you as opposed to a friend who's a girl."

Effy frowned, "So why are you complaining about the sex then? I thought you'd be flattered I can't keep my hands off you."

People were starting to stare at them so Katie leaned in closer and spoke more quietly, "Look Eff, don't get me wrong, the sex is mind blowing and normally that's all I'm interested in. But I meant what I said at home earlier, you're the first person I've ever wanted to spend any time with. This is the first time it's been about more than just sex."

A confused look crossed Effy's face, "Oh, so you don't regret it or wish I was a bloke then?"

Katie looked horrified, "Jesus Eff, why would you even ask that?"

Effy started to blush, "It's felt a bit like you've been going through the motions when we've had sex lately. I thought you might be changing your mind or think that sex with men was much better. You know because they have a dick and I don't."

"I'm well aware of that Eff, although recently you'd be hard pushed to tell the difference." Katie said slightly bitterly.

"What's that supposed to mean? Oh God, you've been faking it haven't you?" Effy said in a panicked tone.

Katie shot her a look and then looked around to check no one was listening.

"Keep your voice down." She hissed across the table. "I haven't been faking it ok? It's just the sex has felt a little bit impersonal lately."

"What do you mean impersonal?" Effy asked.

Katie motioned for her to come closer, "You know what I mean. Look Eff, I'm pretty open minded when it comes to sex and I really don't mind being tied up or using toys but not all the time. It just gets boring."

Effy sighed, "Oh, I thought it might be more like what you're expecting, I didn't want to disappoint you."

Katie stared at her before her mouth formed an O of surprise, "That's why you've been behaving like this? Because you thought you had to fuck me with a dildo otherwise I wouldn't have a good time?"

Effy nodded.

"Jesus Effy, didn't it occur to you to ask? Did I come the first night we slept together, you know without all the paraphernalia?" Katie asked exasperatedly, not caring that they were once again attracting the attention of some of the other diners.

"Well, yeah, three times if I recall correctly." Effy said quietly.

Katie shook her head, "Effy, I really don't believe this. I don't want to shut my eyes and pretend I'm shagging a bloke. It's you I want to be with. I like the fact that you've got soft skin and your hands are gentle. I like you touching me and I like feeling your fingers inside me."

Finally Effy smiled, "Really?"

Katie nodded, "Do you know what else I like?"

Effy shook her head.

Katie smiled, "I never, ever thought I'd say this but I fucking love going down on you."

Effy winked at her, "Good, because you're rather talented at it."

They both started to laugh until they were interrupted by the waiter offering them the dessert menu. He stood by the side of the table as they glanced at the list. Katie looked up to find him staring at her with a knowing look on his face.

"Yes? Can I help you?" Katie snapped.

The waiter winked at her, "Just wondering if you needed any help deciding what you want. We can _go down_ the list together if you like."

"Oh fuck off you perv. Come on Eff let's pay the bill and go." Katie responded.

Effy threw some money on the table and turned to the waiter as she got up, "That should cover it and no, there's no tip."

They attracted stares as they were leaving but by now Katie didn't care.

When they got to the door the twin turned around, "By the way, yes we are and no, you can't watch."

They left the restaurant giggling. Once they were outside Effy turned to her girlfriend.

"Look Katie, I'm really sorry. Can we agree that next time something is bothering us we'll talk to each other sooner? Frankly I've got enough drama in my life with my parents without inventing angst with you as well." Effy said with a smile.

The twin smiled back, "Sounds like a plan to me. Shall we go back to yours?"

Effy nodded, "Yeah and I promise not to jump on you as soon as we get through the door."

Katie raised her eyebrow, "You've got to be kidding right? All this sex talk has made me horny as hell. You're taking me straight to bed."

Effy smiled, "Is that an order?"

Katie nodded, "Damn right it is."

Effy flagged a taxi, "Well in that case who am I to refuse? One night of shagging coming right up. If you're really lucky I might even give you an advance preview in the cab."

* * *

Emily sighed as Naomi planted kisses across her collarbone before gently sucking on her pulse point. They had been in her room for some time and although the kisses had started out fairly chaste, they were rapidly becoming more passionate. The blonde was almost on top of Emily and the redhead couldn't help a moan escaping as Naomi shifted her weight slightly so her thigh pressed between Emily's legs.

_Oh fuck, we need to stop this before things get out of hand,_ Emily thought as Naomi's lips reconnected with hers and the blonde's tongue sought entrance to her mouth. Emily willingly parted her lips and began to gently massage Naomi's tongue with her own.

_Maybe I'll stop it in a minute_, was her next thought as she ran her hand through Naomi's hair and pulled her deeper into the kiss.

Naomi spotted the opportunity presented to her by Emily's arm being raised and slowly moved her hand under the redhead's shirt. She gently caressed the soft skin, sighing with pleasure as it quivered beneath her fingertips. She inched her hand up the redhead's side, stroking as she went, hoping that this time Emily wouldn't move it when her final destination became apparent.

_So far so good_, she thought as she came into contact with the soft material of Emily's bra and the redhead moaned into her mouth. Suddenly Naomi felt her hand being slapped away and they stopped kissing.

"Naomi, I've already told you, stop your hands wandering to places they shouldn't. It's like being with an octopus." Emily admonished.

Naomi groaned loudly, "Jesus Em, this is killing me. You moaned for fuck's sake so you must have been enjoying it."

Emily rolled her eyes, "Of course I was enjoying it and I was enjoying you grinding against me too but that's not the point."

Naomi moved off Emily and lay on her side, "So what is the bloody point?"

"You know exactly what I'm talking about. We're going slow, not jumping steps like we have in the past. Fair enough, you were right about us being able to kiss again but we can't do anything else otherwise we might as well just forget the whole thing and have sex." Emily explained patiently.

Naomi grinned, "Having sex, right here, right now, gets my vote."

Emily's face fell, "I thought you were ok with this and understood why it was important to me."

Naomi sighed, "Sorry, I am ok with this and I promised you we'd do things properly this time. It's not my fault you're so bloody irresistible I'm finding it hard to keep my hands to myself."

Emily smiled, "Babe, it's not like it's easy for me either. I can't even begin to tell you how graphic some of my dreams have been."

Naomi's face lit up, "You could try."

Emily waggled her finger, "It's too soon for dirty talk, what type of girl do you think I am?"

The blonde pretended to think.

"Er, the type who might tell me exactly what she wants to do to me or maybe even let me feel her up because we haven't had sex in ages and she's as frustrated as I am." Naomi replied hopefully.

"How would either of those things help? We'd just be more frustrated than ever and we'd almost certainly end up having sex if I told you exactly what I'd like to be doing right now." Emily said in a husky voice.

Naomi threw herself face first into the pillow and screamed, "Seriously Emily, stop teasing me."

The redhead sighed, "Sorry. Look this is about us getting to know each other right? We've talked quite a bit about big things but I realised I don't know the little things about you."

Naomi faced her again, "Like what?"

Emily paused, "Like what's your favourite colour?"

Naomi smiled, "Definitely red, although I am finding it very irritating at the moment."

Emily grew excited, "I know, why don't we agree that every day we can ask one question about each other, it can be anything we want to know. That way we'll find out more detail about our lives and we'll have fun."

"I think you might want to check the definition of fun Em." Naomi said sarcastically.

"Sorry, I thought it was a good idea." Emily said quietly.

The blonde reached out and stroked her cheek, "It is a good idea, I didn't mean to be grouchy. So my question for today is would you like to go on a date with me next Saturday?"

Emily's eyes widened in surprise, "A date?"

Naomi nodded, "I saw the envious looks you were giving Katie."

"But isn't going out for dinner a bit public and obvious? We agreed to keep this to ourselves, you know lessen the pressure." Emily said unsurely.

Naomi tilted her head, "Who said anything about going out? My Mum's at some march for something next Saturday so I'm going to cook you dinner at my place."

"You can cook?" the redhead couldn't hide her surprise.

Naomi pushed her, "Oy, I may not be Michelin standard but I have a few tried and tested dishes up my sleeve."

Emily leaned over and kissed her again, "In which case I'd love to go on a date with you."

The redhead tried to pull away but Naomi pinned her down and began kissing her neck again before moving to her mouth. After they had been kissing for a few minutes Emily felt Naomi's hand brush across her breast again. She reached down and moved it.

"Jesus Em, I've asked you on a date. Surely that means I can touch you a little bit? I'll even keep my hand outside your shirt if you want." Naomi said sulkily.

Emily raised her eyebrow, "Is that why you asked me? So you'd get something in return."

Naomi smiled, "It's not the only reason I asked..."

The redhead tutted and moved the blonde's hand back, "Fine, you can touch my boobs for one minute, but the hands stay outside the shirt and don't wander anywhere else ok?"

Naomi placed her hand on Emily's other breast and began to gently massage them. The blonde squeezed Emily's nipples and could feel them go hard even through the layers of fabric causing the redhead to whimper slightly.

"Oh God Em, I feel like a parched woman who's just found an oasis in the desert. This is fucking heaven." Naomi whispered between kisses.

Emily smiled up at her girlfriend, "If you think this is good you should wait to see how far I'll let you go after our first date, you never know I might even go topless."

Naomi eyes widened and she groaned in frustration, "Fucking hell Em, this is going to be a long week."


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N: I know it's been a while since I updated so I hope you guys are ready for chapter 13. I sound like a broken record but I promise I'll try to update sooner next time. That also goes for my other stories, especially Always with you, which hasn't been updated for an inexcusably long time for a variety of reasons.**

**Thank you for the continued reviews and favourite story or author alerts, I really mean it when I say it always excites me when I get a new notification. It might be hard to believe but without the continued encouragement it would probably take me even longer to write and post new chapters (yes, it is possible for me to take even longer!)**

**But anyway, without further adieu, I give you the next instalment, Emily and Naomi's date. As we know, Naomi, in typical fashion, is struggling to abide by the go slow agreement. It's a good job nice, sensible Emily Fitch is around, I mean she's bound to keep them in check right?**

* * *

Once again Emily found herself staring at every item of clothing she owned before deciding nothing was suitable. She was due over Naomi's house soon, they were going to study as normal on a Saturday but then Naomi had told her she had to go upstairs and get ready for their date while she cooked them both dinner. The blonde had stated she would knock on her bedroom door at precisely seven o'clock and pick her up. Apart from that Naomi had been very cagey about the details, she had insisted she wanted to surprise Emily and make it feel as real a date as possible. Only now she didn't have anything to wear. She had her casual clothes on for studying but she wanted to make an effort for dinner to show Naomi she really appreciated the gesture. If she was being totally honest she wanted to do more than that, she wanted to drive her girlfriend crazy, not that it took much for either of them these days.

Since last weekend they'd met up as often as possible, usually with a flimsy excuse but always with the same real aim - find somewhere quiet and kiss until they could hardly breathe. Katie and Effy were watching them like hawks, they both knew something had changed between the pair, but Naomi and Emily refused to confirm their speculations. As the week wore on they grew less choosy about where they met up which had resulted in some slightly inappropriate locations. Emily blushed slightly as she remembered Naomi surprising her in the library yesterday; the blonde had crept up behind her while she was stretching for a book and began an assault on her neck causing Emily to moan softly. The redhead had only found the strength to stop her after Naomi began caressing her breasts and whispering what she'd really like to be doing to her. The blonde had been pissed off when she stopped her, thinking Emily was being a stickler for the rules again.

_If only she knew it was because I wasn't sure how much longer I could control myself_, Emily thought as her blush deepened.

She turned back to the wardrobe but nope, the clothes fairy hadn't miraculously visited while she was lost in thought and left her the perfect outfit. There was only one thing for it and although it was something Emily was reluctant to do, mainly because she'd be faced with a million questions, she knew there was no avoiding it.

The redhead sighed, "Fuck it, I'm going to have to get Katie's help again."

She made her way downstairs and into the kitchen where she was greeted with the sight of her sister being pinned against the worktop by Effy, who was busy kissing her.

Emily rolled her eyes and cleared her throat, "I think I preferred it when you two were having problems."

Effy removed her hands from inside Katie's top and they both turned to Emily.

"What the fuck is so important that you had to interrupt my girlfriend feeling me up?" Katie said with a sneer.

Emily stared back at her, "Seriously K, the kitchen? Why don't you two just get a bloody room?"

Effy smirked at her, "Don't worry, once you've gone over to Naomi's we fully intend to."

Emily looked enviously at them, no stupid go slow agreements there she thought bitterly.

She was interrupted from her thoughts by Katie, "Come on then bitch, what's got your knickers in a twist?"

"Like we don't already know." Effy said smiling at her.

Emily looked surprised, "What do you mean?"

Effy paused for effect, "I'm guessing that you've just been trying to find something to wear for your 'lets pretend it's no big deal' date tonight with Naomi. You've realised there's nothing in your wardrobe that's going to make her want to rip your clothes off, which is the look you're going for even if that is against 'the rules'. So now you've come down here to beg Katie to help you look seriously fuckable when Naomi picks you up."

Emily stood open mouthed, she knew Effy was intuitive but was she really that transparent? Apparently so.

Katie smiled at her, "We only know all of that because Naomi asked me over to her's last night for exactly the same reason. You've left it a bit late Em, but luckily for you I knew this was going to happen so I'm well prepared. Come with me."

Silently Emily followed her twin back to their bedroom, she sat on her bed and watched as Katie opened her wardrobe and pulled out three hangers. One contained a pair of skinny trousers, the next had a short frilly skirt and the final one had a vest top, they were all in black and they looked expensive. The redhead was surprised as it was actually quite tasteful compared to most of Katie's outfits.

"I know it's January but I figured you'll only be wearing it inside so it'd be ok. Consider it a belated Christmas present." Katie said gently as she handed them over.

Emily couldn't hide her shock, "You're giving these to me?"

"Well it's hardly something I'd wear is it? How fucking boring do you think I am?" Katie said with a snort.

Given her generosity Emily decided to let her twin's comments slide, "But I don't get it, why?"

Katie raised her eyebrow, "Let's just say a little bird told me that it wasn't very thoughtful of me to keep buying you books, especially ones you've already got, when you make much more effort with presents for me."

Emily looked over at Effy who shrugged, "Sorry, Naomi tells me most things and I thought it was something Katie should know."

"I told her not to say anything, not that I don't appreciate the clothes Katie." Emily replied crossly.

Katie smiled, "Em, you should have just said, I wasn't deliberately being lazy, I really thought you liked the books I was buying."

Emily reddened, "I know I should have just told you but I didn't want to seem ungrateful."

Katie held her arms out for a hug and the twins tightly embraced. As they separated Emily checked her watch and muttered an expletive.

"Shit, I was supposed to have left 10 minutes ago to go to Naomi's." She said starting to panic slightly.

Effy winked at Katie, "What's the hurry, I thought you were just studying first?"

Emily blushed again, "We are but Naomi is picking me up for dinner at seven so the later I get there the less studying we can do."

Katie raised her eyebrow, "So she's picking you up, but it's not a big deal?"

"It's only from her room." Emily replied looking at the floor.

"Oh for God's sake, this is a proper date Em." Effy responded with a snort.

Emily's head shot up, "Alright fine it's a bloody date and yes it's a big deal, happy now?"

"So are you fucking yet?" Katie asked smugly.

Emily's mouth fell open, "Katie! How many more times do we have to tell you? We're taking our time."

"Oh come on Ems, you can tell us. I won't breathe a word to Naoms." Effy said conspiratorially.

"Fuck off the pair of you. We're not shagging." Emily replied indignantly.

Effy and Katie exchanged a knowing look, "but you are doing something?"

Emily knew she was blushing, "I suppose so...we might have kissed a bit."

"And..." Katie prompted.

Emily glared at her "And nothing. We've kissed, it's been nice, but that's all."

Effy burst out laughing.

"What? I'm telling the truth." Emily protested.

Katie looked pointedly at her "so it's not true that you let Naomi feel your tits for a minute, over your shirt of course, last weekend?"

_I'm going to kill her when I see her, that was supposed to be a secret. _Emily thought as she narrowed her eyes.

Effy continued to laugh, "don't be too hard on her, Naomi wasn't moaning. She knows how important this is and she respects that."

Emily's expression softened, "really?"

Effy nodded, "yeah, she doesn't want to make you feel like she's pressuring you or anything. I guess it's inevitable that the frustration bubbles over, you know what Naomi's like sometimes."

"A horny teenage boy?" Emily replied with a grin.

Katie snorted, "it's not just Naomi though is it _Em_?"

Her sister turned to her, "What do you mean?"

A grin broke out across Katie's face, "well unless I'm mistaken, I think you had a sex dream about Naomi last night."

_Oh shit, I did dream about her last night, what did I do? _Emily thought as she felt her face burn.

"Yep, definitely had a naughty dream." Effy said with a snort of laughter, "details please Katie."

"I woke up last night and couldn't work out why until I heard Em moaning in her sleep. Then she started to say 'oh God Naomi, that feels soooooo good' and I heard the covers rustling so I was pretty sure she was touching herself too." Katie said with a sly smile.

Emily was indignant, "why didn't you wake me?"

Katie shrugged, "I thought about it but it sounded like you we're having fun. Anyway before long you said 'oh Naomi, don't stop' and then you groaned so I figured you'd finished anyway."

"I don't bloody believe you, listening to me like that, I thought James was the filthy perv around here." Emily said with a glare.

Katie held up her hands, "Hey, I'm not the one who gets myself off in her sleep while her sister is in the other bed."

"Girls, girls, stop the bickering and let's focus shall we?" Effy drawled.

The twins turned to look at her with questioning expressions on their faces.

"So Naomi is tying herself in knots because doesn't want to break the rules and let you down but you're busy wanking in your sleep?" Effy said with a smile.

Emily paused, "I didn't know I was doing it and we agreed masturbation was ok..."

Effy snorted, "Emily, Naomi thinks she's the only one who's finding this hard."

The redhead buried her face in her hands and groaned, eventually she looked up at the two amused faces staring at her, "Please don't tell Naomi, but this is fucking killing me, I wish I'd never suggested it."

Katie stared at her, "So why don't you just tell Naomi that and then you guys can screw?"

Emily folded her arms, "What and have her think I'm fickle. I insisted on this remember and I keep stressing how important it is to me. I'd never live it down if I gave in now."

"So it's got nothing to do with your agreement, you're basically not having sex because neither of you want to be the first to back down?" Effy questioned.

Emily frowned, "No, some of it is to do with our pact..."

Effy and Katie erupted into fits of laughter, "My God this is priceless."

Emily scowled at them, "It's not funny. Naomi practically attacked me in the library yesterday and I made her get off me. She thought it was because I was being a stickler for the stupid rules but it was really because if I let her carry on I'd have probably screwed her right there."

Another howl of laughter, and the pair of them clutched their sides, "Em please stop, this is actually starting to hurt."

"Oh...just fuck off, thanks for the clothes Katie but I've got to go to Naomi's." Emily said as she left the room.

A few minutes later Effy and Katie heard the front door slam as they looked at each other with tears streaming down their face. Eventually they stopped laughing.

"Jesus Christ, I can't believe they're denying themselves sex because they don't want to appear weak in front of each other. I mean I knew they were both stubborn but that's ridiculous." Effy sais shaking her head.

"So how much longer do you think they can keep this up?" Katie questioned her girlfriend.

Effy smiled, "Given how much pent up frustation they both have, I bet they'll be shagging again by tonight."

"Hmmm, you bet eh? Are you going to put your money where your mouth is?" Katie said raising her eyebrow.

Effy paused "How about we forget the money and just concentrate on me betting to put my mouth somewhere far more fun?"

Katie's eyes widened and she pushed the brunette on the bed before leaning down to kiss her "Suddenly I'm very interested in gambling."

Effy's hands returned to their earlier position inside Katie's top, "Like I always say babe, everyone needs a hobby."

* * *

Naomi opened the door to find Emily muttering to herself, she grabbed the bag the redhead was carrying and practically yanked her inside. As soon as the door was closed Emily found herself pressed against it as Naomi crashed their lips together. Eventually they had to break for air.

"Well hello to you too." Emily said while laughing, "That was some welcome."

Naomi grinned back, "I missed you and you're late."

"Yeah, sorry about that but tweedle dumb and tweedle dumber held me up." Emily said with a sigh.

Naomi took her by the hand into the kitchen, "Was that what you were muttering about when I opened the door?"

Emily nodded, "It was partly my fault as I needed to speak to Katie about what I was going to wear tonight but you know what they're like, once they've trapped you the questions are non stop."

"Don't tell me, it was all about how we're coping with the go slow agreement or whether we were shagging?" Naomi ventured.

The redhead nodded, "Both actually. Honestly I know they think it's weird but do they have to keep banging on about it the whole time?"

Naomi put the kettle on, "So what did you say?"

For a second, Emily contemplated telling Naomi the truth but she didn't want to be the one to give in, after all this had been her stupid stipulation in the first place. "I told them both to fuck off and things were working just fine for us."

_It's only a white lie_ Emily reasoned with herself.

"Good, that's pretty much what I told Effy the other day." Naomi replied, glad that she was facing away from her girlfriend who would be able to see right through her fib.

The redhead studied Naomi carefully, _now who's telling porkies? _But she let it slide, if she didn't the truth about the conversation that had taken place earlier might also be revealed.

The blonde handed her a cup of tea, "So do you want to put your stuff up in my room before we start studying?"

"Ok, can I leave it on the bed or do you need to use the room before me?" Emily asked.

Naomi shook her head, "I've put my things in my Mum's room so it's all your's today and you don't need to worry about spoiling the impact before our date, I won't peek I promise."

Emily smiled shyly, "Thanks, I know it's silly but I want it to be the same if you were really picking me up."

Naomi smiled, "It's not silly, I've already told you I want this to be as real as possible."

Emily placed her cup on the table and picked her bag back up, "Right I'll be back down in two minutes."

As she got to the kitchen doorway Naomi called her name, she turned to find the blonde staring at her with a raised eyebrow, "Remember Em, I want you to be blown away too so no sneaking into my Mum's room."

"As if I would do something so unfair and downright rude as that, I'm appalled." Emily replied indignantly.

Naomi laughed, "Emily Fitch, I know exactly how your brain works so don't try to pretend the thought never occurred to you."

_Of course the bloody thought occurred to me, but you're right, as usual, and I don't want to spoil our date either. _Emily tried to keep her expression neutral.

They continued to outstare each other until finally the redhead gave in, "Damn it. How come everyone can see through me today?"

"Because you're a very open and honest person Em, it's one of the things I love most about you." Naomi replied simply.

Emily blushed, "Thank you."

_Go Campbell, _Naomi silently rejoiced, _that was fucking genius. _

"That was a really sweet thing to say." Emily said with a shy smile.

Naomi had to stop the grin breaking out on her face, _it get's better, keep this up and Emily won't be able to resist you. The best bit is you don't have to feel guilty because all you're doing is telling her the truth, you smooth charmer._

The blonde was brought crashing down to earth by Emily's next words.

"It doesn't mean you're any closer to getting into my knickers."

* * *

Emily half opened one eye and glanced at her watch, technically time was up but what the hell a few more minutes wouldn't do any harm. Suddenly Naomi stopped kissing her and got up from the sofa.

"Come on you, that's the 10 minutes up, now it's back to studying." The blonde said holding her hand out.

Emily scowled as she took it and allowed herself to be pulled up, "Now who's being a stickler for the rules."

Naomi laughed as she dragged her back to the kitchen where they'd both set up their laptops, "Em, I've got tons to get through before I make a start on dinner and for some reason I keep getting distracted."

When Emily returned they had finally started to study but neither of them could concentrate properly. They both kept looking up only to find the other staring at them. After about 30 minutes Emily's hand had 'accidentally' brushed Naomi's knee causing her leg to jerk and smack against the table leg. In order to avoid more injury they had decided to study for 50 minutes and as a reward they could spend the remaining 10 minutes of the hour kissing on the sofa. Emily kept trying to elongate the reward time but Naomi was having none of it.

Emily flopped into her chair, "Oh alright, that had better be something important like your UCAS form, the deadline is fast approaching."

"Er, yeah I know that. It'll be in on time." Naomi replied too quickly.

Emily paused and stared at her, inevitably Naomi began to go red.

"Naomi, what aren't you telling me?" Emily said in her warning voice.

The blonde sighed, "Promise you won't get annoyed?"

Emily stared at her, "How can I promise when I don't know what it is yet?"

"Em, please." Naomi pleaded.

The redhead narrowed her eyes, "the best I can offer is that I'll try not to get _too _annoyed."

Naomi smiled weakly, "I sent my UCAS application in ages ago."

Emily looked puzzled, "But I thought you said last week you wanted Lottie to take a look at it for you."

"No, I said I was discussing topics for any interviews I might get." Naomi said quietly.

Emily studied her, "But I saw the UCAS website up earlier, what were you doing if you weren't completing your form?"

The blonde shifted uncomfortably, "I was just tracking my progress."

Naomi knew it would only be a matter of time before Emily put two and two together and sure enough a light seemed to come on in her head.

"Show me your application Naomi." Emily demanded.

"Oh come on Emily, I showed you a copy..." Naomi began.

Emily shook her head, "It's not the content I'm going to get annoyed about is it though? Show me the progress."

Naomi pouted and logged into the website, once she'd entered the tracking pages she turned the computer towards Emily. The redhead quickly scrolled to the section she was looking for and gasped.

"Oh Naomi..." She uttered.

The blonde shrugged, "It is the best university in the country for it."

"I know that, we've talked about it but you said that even though Oxford was rated number one you weren't interested in applying because the only course you'd be eligible for was with history and you wanted pure politics. What happened to Goldsmiths?" Emily said with a sigh.

Naomi pointed at the screen, "It's still there."

Emily scanned Naomi's other choices, they were all in London, a place the blonde had said she'd dreamed about going to university since she'd first decided what she wanted to study.

"Didn't you have to do some sort of exam or test?" Emily enquired.

Naomi nodded, "I had to send in an essay and sit a history aptitude test in early November. After that I got shortlisted for interview and I went in December for that."

"When did that happen?" Emily said trying to wrack her brains.

Naomi gave a half smile, "Do you remember that day I said I was off school sick before Christmas?"

Emily nodded, "No wonder you looked so sheepish when I teased you about your miraculous recovery. So what now?"

"I need to keep tracking my application progress to see if I was successful. It's a really long shot Em, only about 15% of people applying get in. They probably won't want me." Naomi said matter of factly.

Emily couldn't help herself, "Don't be daft, of course they will, everyone wants you."

Their eyes locked and before she could stop herself the redhead was straddling the blonde and hungrily crashing their lips together. The kiss was immediately urgent and deep and Emily moaned as she felt Naomi's tongue enter her mouth. The redhead shifted her position slightly and pulled Naomi deeper into the kiss eliciting a low growl from the blonde. Naomi's hands snaked around Emily's back and she pulled her body closer. Emily took the hint and pushed herself hard against Naomi, once again causing them both to moan into the kiss. Their tongues continued to duel as the speed of their bodies grinding against each other increased. As Emily's hands moved and began to massage Naomi's breasts the blonde finally came to her senses.

_Oh Jesus, I can't believe I'm actually going to do this_ Naomi thought ruefully.

"Emily, we should stop." Naomi ventured as she tried to pull away.

But Emily was undeterred as she continued to kiss Naomi passionately as she moved hard against the blonde.

Naomi tried to push her away again, _God she's strong, or really horny, or both._

"Emily!" she said more loudly and forcefully.

This time the redhead ceased her actions.

"What?" she said crossly.

"We need to stop." Naomi repeated slowly.

Emily stared at her, "I thought this was what you wanted?"

Naomi took a deep breath, "It's not that I don't want to, honestly, I just think we made a pact and the reasons for doing that haven't changed. It's too easy to get carried away and I don't want you to regret anything afterwards. I'm looking forward to our date and doing things more formally."

Emily sighed and rested her forehead on the blonde's, finally she kissed the top of her head and got off Naomi before sitting back down, "I'm sorry, you're right. I'm looking forward to dinner as well and I might feel a bit cheated if we'd basically dry humped in the kitchen before hand."

Naomi stroked her cheek, "I told you in the pub I wanted our first time after Cyprus to be more romantic. I know we've had sex since then but this time we've got a second chance to do things properly so let's take it eh?"

Emily nodded as she glanced at her watch, "I should start getting ready."

"Shit is that the time? I've got a lot to do." Naomi exclaimed shutting down her laptop.

Emily followed suit and made her way to the door, "So I'll see you at seven."

The blonde nodded, "I won't be late."

She watched Emily trudge up the stairs before she rested her forehead against the table. She felt like banging it in frustration. Although it was the right thing to do she couldn't quite believe she'd stopped things.

_I hope she appreciates how bloody hard that was for me, _Naomi thought bitterly.

She heard the redhead mutter "Stupid bloody rules" as she made her way upstairs.

_Definitely not just me then_ Naomi mused as she started preparing dinner.

* * *

Emily took a final look in the mirror and silently thanked Katie, her sister annoyed the shit out of her sometimes but Emily knew she'd always be there for her when it mattered. She wasn't being arrogant but she knew she looked hot. Her eyes and lips stood out with the make up she'd applied and the outfit was perfect, dressy enough to look like she'd made an effort but still casually sexy.

She'd straightened her hair to within an inch of it's life and she admired how glossy and shiny it looked.

_Another benefit of the cold shower I suppose but let's see how long you can resist this Naomi, _she thought grumpily.

She knew she was being unfair, although it had been incredibly frustrating when the blonde stopped them earlier deep down Emily knew it was the right thing to do. Her main source of surprise was that it was Naomi who halted proceedings and she was the one getting carried away.

There was a gentle knock at the door and the redhead panicked slightly, was it seven already? She made her way across the room and took a deep breath before she opened the door. The sight that greeted her made her breath hitch. Naomi stood nervously holding a bunch of lilies, her favourite flower. She was wearing a simple red dress with a white pattern accompanied by a black bolero style cardigan. Her hair had been curled slightly so it hung softly around her face and Emily noticed Naomi had opted for flat shoes which meant because she was wearing heels they we're almost the same height. But it was the blonde's eyes that got her attention. It wasn't like they weren't always stunning but tonight they were spectacular, like brilliant blue targets. The fact that they were appreciatively looking her up and down only added to the effect.

"These are for you," Naomi said handing over the flowers, she smiled and bit her lip, "and well, wow."

Emily blushed, "Thanks, they're my favourites and you look," she paused and licked her lips "...fantastic."

Naomi looked at her shyly, "I remembered and thank you, are you ready?"

Emily nodded, but stood rooted to the spot, unable to tear her eyes away from the blonde.

"We should probably go down," Naomi uttered equally as captivated by the redhead. "oh bollocks...shit...I meant downstairs...I wasn't...I didn't mean..."

Emily smiled and took her hand, "I knew what you meant."

They made their way to the kitchen in silence, sneaking glances at each other all the time. When they reached the doorway Naomi stepped back and allowed Emily through first. The redhead gasped, the blonde had transformed the room. The table was now covered in a pristine white table cloth and there were two places set for dinner. A lit candlestick stood in the centre of the table and a bottle of something was cooling on the worktop, Naomi's i-phone was in a docking station in the corner of the room.

"I thought you hated The Cardigans?" Emily asked in surprise.

Naomi smiled, "but you don't. I've put together a special playlist of some of your favourites, there's some Royksopp, the Misfits, you might even get me dancing to oops upside your head if you're lucky."

Emily returned the smile, Naomi had really thought about this, "so definitely no Arctic Monkeys then?"

Naomi shook her head,"not tonight, although I'll never give up trying to convince you of their genius you know?"

"Maybe I'll warm to them because you have impeccable taste in everything else." Emily said as she leant over to softly kiss the blonde.

Naomi pulled away before the kiss got too heated, she cleared her throat, "right let's get these into some water and then I hope you don't mind but I need to put the finishing touches to dinner."

"Of course I don't mind, are you sure I can't help?" Emily offered.

Naomi shook her head, "I keep telling you Em, this is about me spoiling you. So sit down and relax. Can I get you a drink?"

"Please Naoms, let me at least do that. I feel like a bit of a tit doing nothing while you run around after me." Emily pleaded.

The blonde relented, "Alright you can sort the drinks out. There's some sparkling wine in the ice bucket, I couldn't stretch to champagne, sorry."

Emily smiled as she pulled the bottle out, "This is lovely, I don't really like champagne anyway, I find it too bitter. So what are we having to eat?"

Naomi glanced over, "I hope you like Thai food, I checked with Katie and she said it would be ok. We're having som tam to start and a Thai beef salad afterwards. The coconut rice pudding may seem a bit like school dinners but I promise you it's authentic."

Emily jumped as the cork popped, "Thai's great, I love it. Anyway how do you know what's authentic?"

Naomi smiled, "My Mum's an ageing hippy remember? She's got loads of friends who experienced the _real _Thailand, you know before it became 'popular' with everyone."

Emily poured them both a drink, "Does it make you want to go there?"

"I've been a few of times," Naomi said with a shrug.

Emily couldn't hide her surprise, "Really? What's it like?"

Naomi paused, "Bangkok is mental, it's like an assault on your senses. But a lot of the beach resorts are ok as long as you can dive into a pool whenever you want, the humidity is unbelievable when you're not used to it."

Emily looked at her enviously, "So have you travelled a lot then?"

"A fair bit I suppose. We always go away at Christmas and naturally as spiritual beings that meant India, Thailand or wherever. The fact that we needed to travel on non eco friendly gas guzzling, polluting planes to get there is apparently balanced out by the cleansing of our souls that we receive on arrival." Naomi said sarcastically.

Emily's face fell, "Oh, I always thought it would be wonderful to go to those places."

Naomi softened, "Sorry Em, I don't mean to be cynical. They are wonderful it's just I hate the attitude of most of Mum's friends, they think they're so fucking superior. These places are beautiful and people should see them, what does it matter if you've gone there to 'find yourself' or on a bloody package holiday?"

"I suppose so." Emily replied not sounding at all convinced.

The blonde stopped what she was doing, "What's the matter?"

Emily sighed and wouldn't make eye contact, "it's nothing really, it's just silly."

Naomi walked over to her and tipped her chin upwards so they were looking at each other, "Come on Em, you can tell me anything, what's bothering you?"

The redhead turned away and sat down, she paused for a minute and finally gave Naomi a weak smile, "You've been to so many places that I've only ever dreamt of visiting, it would probably be boring to go back."

Naomi smiled before crouching in front of her girlfriend, she took Emily's hands in her own, "How about I make you a promise that one day I'll take you to all of these places?"

"Really?" Emily said tentatively.

The blonde nodded.

"I'd like that" Emily said beginning to brighten.

Naomi gently kissed her hands, "Em, I'll show you the world if it makes you happy."

Emily's smile grew, "what like my guide?"

Naomi nodded, "Exactly like that, although there are a load of places I haven't been that I'd love to go to."

"Like where?" Emily asked curiously.

Naomi got back up and finished preparing the papaya salad starter, "I've never been to Australia, New Zealand, South America..."

Emily grew excited, "Wow, we could take a year off after uni or something and just travel."

Naomi smiled as her heart began to beat faster. Emily had mentioned them travelling after uni like it was the most natural thing in the world.

_She thinks we have a future together, _Naomi thought excitedly as she set the dishes down on the table, "That sounds like an easy way to avoid those awkward first date silences."

Emily looked confused, "What does?"

"Planning Emily and Naomi's big adventure." the blonde replied as she served the starter.

Emily's eyes grew wide, "Oh my God, what a brilliant idea. Right first I think we need to travel to Thailand..."

* * *

They sat on the sofa after the meal finishing their drinks. Emily blushed as a small burp escaped.

Naomi hid a giggle, "Very romantic Em."

"Sorry, I think it's the chillies repeating on me." Emily replied looking embarrassed.

"I did warn you, that's why I put less in the dishes and made the dressing separately. You were only supposed to add what you could handle." Naomi said still smiling.

Emily tutted, "Hey it's not my fault I was eating with Ms 'I like my Thai food authentic', Jesus you put tons on, I copied you but I didn't realise it would be so hot."

Naomi frowned, "Sorry, I didn't mean to spoil the meal for you."

Emily reached over and gently stroked her cheek "You didn't, it was delicious, coughing fits and residual burps aside."

"So where did we get to with our big adventure?" Naomi asked.

Emily smiled, there was only one topic of conversation over dinner. They'd endlessly discussed and debated where they wanted to go and what order they should see things. They were both a bit relieved to find that their wish list of countries to visit was broadly the same, another demonstration of their compatibility. They had pretty much ruled out Europe as they thought it would be too expensive for a long holiday and besides they could easily visit there anytime on a package deal.

"We'd just finished South America. What about North America or Canada?" Emily asked, her eyes sparkling.

Naomi paused, "Hmmm, I'm not sure. Wouldn't you rather do that as a separate trip? At this rate we'll be away for about two years and it'll take us until we're 30 to save for it."

Emily laughed, "Ok we can leave it there for our first trip of a lifetime and go to the States as our second."

The blonde tilted her head, "There's going to be two?"

"At least," Emily started before she grew shy, "well that's what I hope anyway..."

Naomi took both their glasses and placed them on the coffee table, she turned back to the redhead and stared at her before slowly leaning over and capturing her lips in a sensual kiss. She pulled on Emily's lip as she withdrew.

"That's what I hope too," she said gently as they parted.

They continued to stare at each other, smiling in the knowledge that although they hadn't actually discussed it, they were both planning for this to be a long term relationship.

"Emily... will you...will you stay with me tonight?" Naomi asked quietly, looking at her hands which were in her lap.

Emily paused, contemplating Naomi's request.

The blonde could see her girlfriend was unsure so she clarified, "I don't mean for sex, I just want to hold you and wake up next to you tomorrow morning, I've missed that."

Emily smiled and nodded her head, "Ok I'll stay. I've missed the closeness too."

Naomi exhaled before rising from the sofa and taking both Emily's hands in her own. She pulled the redhead up before kissing her gently again, "Come on then, let's go to bed."

They made their way upstairs and into Naomi's bedroom. She went over to her chest of drawers and pulled out two t-shirts.

Emily raised her eyebrow, "What are those for?"

Naomi looked confused, "I thought you'd need some pyjamas?"

Emily kicked off her shoes and painstaking slowly started to remove her clothes. She maintained eye contact as she rolled down her trousers and removed her skirt. The blonde's breathing became erratic and she gulped as Emily pulled her top over her head before casually letting it fall to the floor. Finally she reached around her back and removed her bra until she stood in front of Naomi wearing only a pair of skimpy knickers.

"I believe I mentioned something about going topless after our first date?" The redhead said questioningly, with a twinkle in her eye.

* * *

Naomi opened her eyes and blinked into the darkness, she was unsure what had caused her to wake suddenly.

_Probably the oppressive sexual bloody tension, _she thought grumpily.

Earlier, after Emily's, for want of a better phrase, striptease, Naomi had quickly undressed down to her own knickers and they got into bed. The only barrier separating them was their underwear and although at times it didn't seem like much, they both reasoned that as long as they weren't _naked _it wasn't breaking the rules. They had kissed and she couldn't deny feeling Emily's skin against hers again was bliss. This time there were no restrictions or slapping of hands as they roamed freely across Emily's back and finally made their way to exposed breasts with already hardened nipples crying out to be caressed, sucked and squeezed.

At first their kisses were slow and gentle as they reacquainted themselves with the feel of the other's flesh. Naomi revelled in being reminded that at kiss here would cause Emily to moan softly or a touch there would make goosebumps appear as the redhead's skin quivered under the slow stroking of her fingers.

But that was at first.

After a while their kisses deepened, their touches became more firm and the sounds escaping both their mouths were a lot less soft and more guttural. They reluctantly stopped when Naomi couldn't help dragging her nails across the front of Emily's knickers and the redhead jerked against the blonde's hand. They quickly drew apart and mumbled goodnight before both lying there silently cursing the rules.

Naomi was brought out of her thoughts by a movement next to her, which was followed by a low moan.

"Oh God Naomi, don't stop." Emily muttered breathlessly.

_Hello, what's going on here?_ Naomi thought as she raised the covers only to find Emily's hand making it's way down towards her underwear.

"Oy!" Naomi stated, shoving her girlfriend.

Emily woke with a start, "What?"

Naomi coughed, "having a nice little dream were we?"

There was a pause before Emily sighed, "Oh not again."

Naomi couldn't hide her surprise, "What do you mean again?"

An awkward silence followed before the redhead sighed, "Apparently I woke Katie last night because I was, erm, a bit vocal in my sleep."

A smile crossed Naomi's face, "Jesus, you had a sex dream about me didn't you?"

Another silence.

"Emily Fitch, be honest, you were dreaming about us having sex." Naomi stated in amusement.

Emily huffed, "Yes, ok? Last night, according to my sister, I woke her up because I was speaking in my sleep and getting myself off."

Naomi began to laugh, "So basically you're making out this is all so easy for you because you're so innocent and pure and the rules are important but all the time you're breaking them?'

Emily pursed her lips, "I'm not breaking them, we agreed masturbation was ok."

Naomi snorted, "Oh come on Em, I feel like I'm some sort of sex maniac because I'm finding it hard to stick to the rules and all the time you're struggling too?"

Emily sighed, "Fine, I'll be honest, I'm starting to think this was the most stupid thing I've ever come up with. You're so gorgeous and all I want to do is touch you. All I can think about at the moment is fucking you senseless."

In the darkness Naomi smiled, "It's good to know it's not just me, so are you saying you want to give in?"

Emily's expression hardened, "Are you?"

Naomi paused, she was stubborn and she didn't want the redhead to have any sort of hold over her, "No, I'm not giving in, I mean, unless you are? Obviously I want us to have sex but not if it means you get some moral high ground."

They both sighed, neither of them wanted to be the one to break their agreement but that meant no sex for the foreseeable future.

Suddenly a thought occurred to Emily.

"Naomi," she started seductively, "what if I could think of a way we could stick to the rules but still get what we need?"

The blonde bit her lip, "Alright, I'm listening."

"Well, we can't have sex but agreed masturbation was ok. So instead of touching each other we could just, you know, do it ourselves, while we're together." Emily opined.

Naomi pondered the suggestion, "Isn't that cheating?"

Emily snorted, "Oh for fuck's sake Naomi, if that's what you believe then I suggest we both get out of bed and get some pyjamas on. No touching at all and we totally cover our bodies.'

Naomi paused, "Ooorrr?"

The redhead smiled, she knew that wouldn't be the palatable option.

"Ooorrrr, we agree that we are both honourable people who would never cheat on our agreement because we find anything like that morally wrong. Instead we accept we're not breaking, but bending, the rules and we both get to come tonight." Emily replied.

Silence descended again.

"We did both agree the other day when I asked you the thing you disliked the most in the world that cheats, liars and injustice came near the top." Naomi mused.

"Um-hmm." Emily said slightly unsure which way the blonde was going to go.

"Which is why neither of us would contemplate anything that might be seen as breaking the rules..."Naomi continued.

Emily nodded, "Like I said, definitely not breaking, just bending."

Another pause.

Finally Naomi reached her decision, "Works for me."

They began to kiss again only this time their hands didn't wander over each other's bodies they immediately entered their own underwear. Suddenly Naomi cried out.

"Fuck babe, were you that desperate?" Emily enquired.

Naomi shook her head and Emily could see the tears in her eyes.

"Forgot I cut up chillies." the blonde stated with a grimace.

Emily sucked in her breath, "Oh God is it stinging?"

Naomi took a deep breath, and nodded, "It's burning like hell. Do you think it's a sign?"

The redhead's shoulders slumped, "Not necessarily, but it probably means this is a bad idea at the moment. I don't want you to be in pain."

Emily was surprised when Naomi moved her hand back inside her underwear. She saw the blonde wince slightly before she moaned softly.

"Fuck it, if it means I get to come with you next to me I don't care. It's not too bad now, in fact it's quite pleasurable once you get over the initial shock." Naomi said as she reached over to pull Emily into a passionate kiss.

The redhead immediately pushed her tongue into Naomi's mouth before she returned her own hand inside her knickers and resumed her actions.

It didn't take long before their breathing grew ragged and they pulled apart.

"Oh shit Em...I'm... already close." Naomi stated biting her lip.

Emily nodded as her fingers moved faster, "Don't worry... me too,"

They kissed again, moaning into each other's mouths as they pushed themselves nearer and nearer to the edge.

Naomi shifted slightly so they were pressing against each other and they could both feel the movements of each other's hands as they were touching themselves. The increasing frequency of their hands colliding, coupled with the rising noise of their groans echoing throughout the room, told them both that they were heading ever closer to their respective climaxes.

The blonde reached over and ran her palm across Emily's erect nipple causing he redhead to cry out.

"Oh Jesus...fuck Naomi..." she uttered as she tensed up and finally her hips jerked against the blonde.

The movement caused Naomi's hand to press firmly against her own body and it was only seconds before she too cried out in pleasure.

After their breathing had slowed they opened their eyes to stare at each other before a smile broke out across the blonde's face, "So that's not cheating then?"

Emily shook her head, "All legitimate and above board."

A long pause as they continued to get their breath back.

"But we won't say anything to Effy or Katie?" Naomi asked tentatively.

Another shake of the head, "Probably best not to..."

They lay in the dark in silence, obviously they were more relaxed than before, but there was still an unmistakable air of tension. Naomi turned on her side and started to trace patterns across Emily's stomach. When Emily moaned appreciatively Noami moved until she was virtually on top of her and as much of their naked flesh was connected as possible. She sighed as their breasts pushed against each other, and their nipples connected sending a jolt of electricity through both their bodies. Emily wrapped her arms around the blonde and ran her hands down her back, before they came to rest on Naomi's buttocks. As the redhead squeezed they could both feel the heat and wetness from each other that was threatening to soak through the barely there, but all important, knickers they were both wearing. Naomi leaned down and covered Emily's mouth with her own, engaging her in a deep kiss.

"So," Naomi paused as they broke apart, "do you want to do that again?"

Emily nodded eagerly as she pressed herself against the blonde, "Fuck yeah, I'm definitely ready for round two."

Naomi shifted so she moved slightly to the side of the redhead and smiled as she guided Emily's hand back into her underwear, "this time I want to watch you first."

Emily moaned softly, "Are you sure?"

The blonde nodded, "I'm still a bit sensitive from the chillies..."

This caused the redhead to moan more loudly.

"Really Em, that turns you on? I thought you didn't want me to be in pain?" Naomi teased.

Emily bit her lip, "It's different if you're only in a little bit of pain..."

"Well that's definitely something worth filing away for future reference" Naomi said with a glint in her eye before she focused all of her attention on the beautiful redhead writhing beneath her.


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N: Hello, ready for the next installment of the story? This is a bit of a smutfest so if that's not your thing then look away now. Ok, didn't think so, in that case carry on and read it.**

**This is only a short note as there's a glass of wine downstairs with my name on it. I intended this and chapter 15 to be one but then thought it would be really long so I've split it, although now I think it might end a bit weirdly. But anyway the next chapter is two thirds written which means I'll try to update it soon.**

**Thank you so much to all of you who are sticking with this either by reading, having an alert on or leaving a review. It really means a lot to know you're still enjoying it.**

**Now on with the story, I think Emily has more than proved her point don't you?**

* * *

Emily yawned loudly as she turned the page of her book in the library, she was knackered.

Mrs Biggins glared at her and placed her finger to her lips, "Ssshhhhhh."

Emily smiled apologetically but was thinking _stupid cow,_ _you're making far more noise than I am_.

She went back to her book but the words were swimming around the page. Emily blinked a few times hoping it would make her eyes feel less gritty. She hadn't had much sleep recently and it was starting to take its toll. She almost jumped as her phone vibrated on the desk next to her. Three guesses who that would be. She opened the text and smiled.

_Meet me in 20 minutes, usual place. N x_

Emily looked at the outline of her essay, which hadn't really changed all afternoon, she should probably say no to the blonde.

_Sorry babe, but I can't, I really need to make some progress with this essay. E x_

Emily knew it wouldn't be long before she got a reply and sure enough her phone vibrated almost instantly. _Now be strong Emily, you need to work, don't let Naomi distract you, _she thought as she steeled herself to look at the reply.

_Please Em, I really want to see you, I'm going crazy here. I'll make it worth your while. ;)_

The redhead sighed, it had been two weeks since they'd agreed to 'bend' the rules and although it was better than nothing Emily longed for it to be Naomi touching her instead. She couldn't really understand their stubbornness, it was patently obvious that both she and Naomi were desperate to have sex but still they both refused to back down. It had almost become a battle of wills, one apparently neither of them was prepared to lose. Like when they started kissing again, they met up as often as they could, even in school. Originally they'd found a secluded area of the school grounds, which was fine for a quick snog but far too risky for the more intimate things they were now doing.

One day Naomi had rushed into the library and told Emily to come with her. The redhead did as she was told and followed the blonde as she led her around the school buildings. They finally stopped in front of a door Emily hadn't noticed before in a part of the school which was normally deserted. Naomi ushered Emily inside and they descended a small flight of stairs which led to a disused room below. Although it was a bit dusty neither of them cared as they eagerly began to kiss. It wasn't long before Naomi pulled away and instructed Emily to touch herself. At first she'd been a bit unsure in case they got caught, but one look into Naomi's lust filled eyes had changed her mind. After that they met up in their 'usual place' at least once a day, they'd even managed to tidy it up and add some bean bags so they could be more comfortable.

Effy and Katie were always asking where they were going and what they were doing, but neither of them cracked and they were always careful to make sure they weren't being followed. Emily sighed again, it wasn't just her twin and her girlfriend though, Melissa had also been treating her with suspicion. She had tried to avoid her ex as much as possible since the party but Melissa was more determined than ever they were going to get back together. Emily had tried being polite but firm, hell she'd even tried the rude but firm approach, but Melissa was undeterred. As far as she was concerned Emily was single and so there was nothing stopping Melissa pursuing her. Sometimes Emily wished she could reveal the truth, but Melissa couldn't be trusted to keep it to herself and Emily couldn't put Naomi in a position like that. She was brought out of her thoughts by her phone vibrating for a third time.

_Em, don't ignore me. If you really can't make it I understand. I'll just have to wait for our goodnight phone call. N x_

Emily grinned, over the past week they had bent the rules again, hence the reason she was so tired. They had been having a normal conversation on Monday night and Emily mentioned that Katie was staying over at Effy's. Naomi went quite for a minute before she casually asked if that meant Emily wasn't wearing any pyjamas. When Emily confirmed that she was naked she'd heard the blonde moan slightly. Naomi had said she'd need to put the phone down for a minute and Emily heard movement in the background. The blonde had picked her phone back up and informed Emily that she was now also nude under the covers. At first Emily had been slightly puzzled but she soon realised what Naomi had in mind when she told the redhead she was picturing her lying on the bed. She then proceeded to tell Emily where her hand was positioned and what her fingers were doing. Emily quickly caught on and copied the actions the blonde was relaying to her over the phone. It didn't take long before they were both breathing heavily as their hands moved frantically under the covers. Emily couldn't stop herself from coming after Naomi had told her how wet it made her thinking about doing this to the redhead. She had moaned loudly into the phone and the corresponding noise she heard confirmed that this had been enough to make Naomi come too.

So now they could add phone sex, no not sex, that would clearly be cheating, phone masturbation, to the things that were acceptable and definitely not breaking the rules. Emily chuckled to herself; it was a good job the old wives tale about masturbation sending you blind wasn't true, both she and Naomi would be severely visually impaired by now.

She picked up her phone and was about to compose a text back to Naomi saying she really had to get some work done when Mrs Biggins came over and pointed to a sign.

"Emily, you know the rules. No using your phone in the library." She said in an annoyed voice.

Emily looked apologetic, "Sorry Mrs Biggins, I'll switch it off."

The older woman shook her head, "No I'm sorry Emily, you are disturbing the peace and I'm going to have to ask you to leave.

Emily was about to protest when she realised what this meant, no library, no chance to do her essay plan.

She quickly gathered her things together, "Fine, I'll go."

Mrs Biggins watched her make her way to the door, sending a text. She sighed, when would these young adults realise that rules were there for a reason and not just for fun?

Little did she know that Emily Fitch was a big fan of rules and currently she was very grateful that Mrs Biggins was a stickler for them.

* * *

Effy glanced out of the common room window and scanned around her. She was so engrossed in what she was doing she failed to notice her girlfriend sneak up on her.

"Jesus Christ Eff, binoculars? Isn't that taking things a bit too far?" Katie said with a snort.

The brunette shook her head, "I know they're up to something, I can sense it a mile off. Oh, I know they say they're only kissing and wouldn't dream of breaking the rules, but there's just something about the way they say the word 'breaking' that feels wrong."

Katie conceded she had a point, "I know what you mean, they always glance at each other as they're saying it, like they know something we don't."

Effy nodded, "And they're both far too relaxed. Christ if I hadn't had a shag in months I'd be crawling up the walls."

Katie leaned forward and whispered in her girlfriend's ear, "You crawl up the walls if you don't get a shag every other day."

Effy grinned at her, "I don't hear you complaining."

Katie kissed her and grabbed the binoculars, "Let me have a look. Em told me she was studying in the library but Mrs Biggins said she'd thrown her out for texting too much. I even asked James to break into her phone so I could read her messages but he swears she's changed the passcode after the last time he did it and he's run out of options."

This time Katie scanned around the school grounds but with no better luck than the brunette.

"What the fuck are ya doing?" Cook said as he approached them.

"Trying to find Emily or Naomi, have you seen either of them?" Effy asked.

"Nope. Oh wait I did see Naomi rushing off somewhere earlier. I called out to her, but she was in an 'urry so she didn't hear." Cook replied.

Both girls turned on him, "Why didn't you follow her?"

Cook shrugged, "Didn't know I was supposed to."

Katie sighed, "For fuck's sake that could have been a really good lead you let slip there Cook."

Cook continued to look puzzled, "A good lead for what?"

Effy and Katie glanced at each other, "Technically, we're not supposed to say."

"But ya will anyway?" Cook said raising his eyebrow hopefully.

Effy shook her head, "Really Cook we can't. They'd kill us."

Cook laughed, "What if I guess?"

Katie shrugged at her girlfriend, "It's not our fault if he guesses."

Effy still looked unsure, "I don't know babe..."

Cook fixed her with a stare, "Is this to do with Naoms and red?"

"What about them?" Katie said cautiously.

Cook shrugged, "I thought they'd be Parkview's hottest couple after the party."

"Why?" Katie said warily not wanting to give too much away.

Cook rolled his eyes, "You lot must think I'm thick. The party? Where they realised they were in love. Stuck like glue to each other ever since. Probably at it right now, all sweaty and grindy. Now that's something I'd pay to see."

Effy stared at him, "Cook, if you want to know what's happening you're going to have to do a lot more guessing than that."

"Alright, but I know there's something going on because I caught them snogging a few weeks ago." Cook replied.

Katie hit him, "Why didn't you say? Where did you catch them?"

"Fucking hell, don't go ballistic. It was out in the grounds right the way over there." He said pointing, "But don't bother, they're not using it any more, I've kept checkin'. What? I'm not going to pass up the opportunity to catch them at it."

"Perv." Effy stated.

Cook chuckled, "Listen Eff, I ain't the one who's standing there with some binoculars darlin'. Why don't you fill me in on the rest, Naomi and red won't mind and I'll keep my mouth shut."

Effy glanced at Katie again and sighed, "Fine, they've been back together since the party, but Emily came up with this idea about them taking their time and doing things properly. So they swear they're 'going slow' and not shagging, but both of them have confessed to us they're finding it really hard."

Katie picked up the story, "We know they've kissed and Emily's let Naomi feel her tits but they won't confirm anything else. It's driving us crazy, especially as they keep sneaking off in school and Emily's been staying over Naomi's house again. We just don't believe they can be sleeping in the same bed and not fucking. We couldn't do it."

"Why's it so important?" Cook asked puzzled.

Katie snorted, "You have met my sister right? She's a sanctimonious cow who takes every opportunity to lecture me about how my attitude towards sex and relationships is so different to hers, and by different she means wrong. So finally, I'm in a relationship and she has to go one better by falling in love but not sleeping with her girlfriend until they're 'ready', like some fucking born again virgin. So I want her to shut up about her bloody rules and admit for once she's a sex mad slut too."

Cook looked stunned as Katie finished her rant, "Fuck me, I wasn't expectin' all that emotional shit."

"Is that really how you feel? I thought we were just trying to catch them out so we could take the piss." Effy asked quietly.

The twin's shoulders slumped, "Effy, I've been pretty much called all of the names under the sun, mostly by girls who thought I was going to steal their boyfriends. After a while it becomes a habit. Everyone was going to call me a slag anyway so why shouldn't I shag around? It was better than being stuck at home on my own. Em is always the sensible one, the one who does things properly and always has girlfriends. People see her as relationship material, I'm just good enough for a quick fuck."

Effy raised her girlfriend's chin and stared directly at her, "I don't think you're just a quick fuck, I think you're relationship material and I'm very happy that you decided to be in a relationship with me."

"Really?" Katie asked shyly.

Effy nodded and leant in to gently kiss her, ignoring the whistles they got from some quarters of the room, "Yes Katie, really.

They were interrupted by Melissa, "Still pretending to be gay Katie? When's this little phase going to be over?"

Katie stared at her and laughed, "Still pretending you're not a total bitch Melissa? When's that facade going to fall?"

Melissa glared at her, "Have you seen Emily, I've been looking all over."

Now it was Effy's turn to laugh as she wrapped her arm around Katie's waist, "Why the fuck would we tell you where she is? Haven't you got the message yet?"

"She's just playing hard to get, making me grovel before agreeing to take me back." Melissa said confidently.

Cook shook his head, "If you believe that sweetheart, then you're far thicker than I had you pegged for. Red's moved on.

Effy swiftly kicked him hard in the leg, "What he means is that Emily isn't interested, get over it Melissa."

The dark haired girl smirked at them, "Seriously, if you think I'm going to get worried about Em's little crush on our uptight head girl then you're barking up the wrong tree. Like that'll amount to anything. Well if you do see her tell her I'm looking for her."

Effy watched her walk away and couldn't help sneering, "Seriously, what did Emily ever see in her? She's vile."

Katie shrugged, "I always thought so too but Em couldn't see through her, well not until she found out she was shagging someone else."

They turned as Naomi began reading out some announcements.

"Where the hell did she spring from?" Katie enquired.

Cook shrugged, "She wandered in a couple of minutes ago. No sign of red though."

As if on cue, they spotted Emily trying to squeeze in at the back, they weren't the only ones.

"Emily Fitch, you're late. Care to explain where you've been and what was important enough to distract you?" The blonde asked in a cold voice.

Emily held her gaze, "Sorry Naomi, it won't happen again. The lateness I mean, not the distraction."

Naomi's nostrils flared slightly, "Good please see that it doesn't. Remember Emily, rules are rules, I'm only here to enforce them."

"I appreciate that. I'd hate for you to be forced to detain me after school as a punishment." Emily replied huskily.

Effy watched the exchange carefully, she looked around at her fellow students, Jesus they were morons. They were witnessing what could only be described as foreplay right before their eyes and they were oblivious.

Katie nudged her, "How on earth do they think eye fucking across the common room isn't obvious?"

Effy shrugged, "Look around Katiekins, it's totally going over their heads."

To her right she heard Cook laugh, he leaned over, "They're shagging."

Both she and Katie stared at him, "How do you know?"

Cook grinned, "Listen, I went out with Naomi for long enough to know what her face looks like after she's come."

The pair of them turned back to the blonde who was continuing her announcements but as often as possible her eyes returned to the redhead, who in turn had her gaze fixed firmly on Naomi at the front of the room. The two of them had slightly flushed faces and they watched as Emily gave Naomi a knowing smile as she finished.

"They're so doing it." Katie stated.

Effy finally smiled, "Well they're definitely doing more than just kissing, all we need to do now K is catch them at it."

* * *

The next morning Emily sat excitedly in the car on her way over to Naomi's. As it was a Saturday, she'd be heading over there any way but the text message had made her hurry up. She got out her phone and read it again.

_Em, I've got an update from the UCAS website. It must be Oxford. I can't look until you're here. Nx _

Luckily her Dad was around as he didn't have to be at the gym until later and she'd immediately cornered him and begged him for a lift. Katie had been a bit pissed off because Emily insisted their Dad dropped her off first, even though Effy's was closer. Unusually, Katie hadn't gone out with the brunette last night and she was eager to see her girlfriend.

_Not as eager as I am to see mine_, Emily thought as she tutted at another red light that had seemingly been strategically changed just to make this feel like the longest car journey in the world.

"Jesus Em, what is it with you today? Have you got ants in your pants or something?" Katie said in a bored voice from the back of the car.

Emily paused, she couldn't tell Katie the truth, Naomi's application to Oxford was a secret and they didn't even know that she'd got in yet. The redhead pushed any negative thoughts from her mind, of course Naomi would be accepted, Oxford would be very lucky to have her.

"Oh for fuck's sake. One minute you're all impatient and tutting, the next you're sitting there with a dopey grin on your face. Seriously, what is up with you?" Katie asked more forcefully.

Emily returned her expression to a more neutral one, "Nothing's up. I'm just happy I'm seeing Naomi."

"Do you think it's normal to be this happy to see just a _friend_ Emsie?" Rob asked with a grin.

Emily shrugged, they were still keeping the pretence that there was nothing going on between the pair of them up with Gina and Emily's family. However, both she and Naomi knew none of their parents were really buying it.

"I'm not sure what's normal Dad, but this is how I feel when I'm going round to my friend Naomi's house." Emily replied casually as she refused to take the bait.

"Bullshit." Katie coughed into her hand.

Emily turned round, "Did you say something Katie?"

The twin smiled back innocently, "No, I just had something stuck in my throat."

The redhead narrowed her eyes, "Not Effy's tongue? That makes a change."

Katie smirked at her, "Feeling frustrated are we Em? Is that why you're so eager to see Naomi?"

"Shut up." Emily hissed motioning towards her Dad, who she could see was pretending not to listen but taking in every word.

"How long is it exactly since you had sex?" Katie said with another innocent smile.

Emily glared at her but stayed silent. Katie knew exactly how long it had been since she and Naomi had slept together. Even though she and Effy didn't know about the rule bending, Katie was right about one thing - Emily was as horny as hell. Because her twin had stayed at home last night her phone conversation with Naomi had to be far more innocent then either of them had grown used to.

She felt her Dad pat her arm, "Going through a bit of a dry spell are we love?"

_Oh God, please let this conversation not be taking place_, Emily thought in horror as her Dad smiled kindly at her.

"Must be hard at your age, all of those hormones raging around with nowhere to go. I remember what it was like. And let's face it Naomi is a very attractive girl, it must be very difficult to keep your hands off her." Rob continued.

Emily fought the urge to place her fingers in her ears and scream, not only was this conversation actually happening it was getting worse, her Dad was offering an opinion on her girlfriend's attractiveness. She turned sharply and gave Katie a death stare but she simply grinned back.

Emily fixed her eyes firmly on the road, desperately trying to avoid eye contact. She jumped as she felt her twin whisper next to her ear.

"Yeah Ems, you find Naomi very attractive don't you? How have you managed to keep to the rules? If it was me and Effy I'd have given in and jumped her bones by now. Which is exactly what I'm going to do when I finally get to her house. No going slow for us, just lots and lots of hot, dirty sex." Katie said teasingly.

Emily stared straight ahead trying desperately to keep her breathing under control and her colour down. It wasn't from embarrassment, it was far worse than that. As soon as Katie mentioned hot, dirty sex her mind was flooded with images of a very naked Naomi and all the things she wanted to be doing to the blonde right at this moment. She only just managed to stop herself screaming with frustration.

After what seemed like an excruciating eternity they finally pulled up outside Naomi's house. Emily practically ripped the handle off the door because she she was in such a hurry to escape.

"See you Dad, thanks for the lift." She mumbled as she got out.

Katie climbed into the front and Emily could hear her laughing with their Dad as she walked up the path.

"See you later, my horny little twin. Make sure you scratch that itch now." Katie called after her.

Something inside Emily snapped, maybe it was the embarrassing conversation with her Dad, maybe it was Katie's mickey taking or maybe it was simply the sexual frustration bubbling over but she was thoroughly pissed off.

She turned around and screamed at her twin, "I AM NOT HORNY AND I WON'T BE FUCKING NAOMI TODAY."

Katie and her Dad burst out laughing and gave a wave, which Emily initially thought was for her until she turned around and noticed the blonde standing in the open doorway.

"Why don't you shout that a bit louder Em, I'm not sure the whole of Bristol heard you." Naomi said smirking at her.

Emily blushed, this time from embarrassment, "Sorry but Katie's been winding me up."

"I can see that you're..." Naomi paused, "frustrated."

The redhead held up her index finger as a warning, "Seriously Naomi, you do not want to mess with me today."

"I want to _mess_ with you every day Emily." Naomi said with a wink as she moved aside to let her girlfriend in making sure their bodies brushed against each other.

Emily's breath hitched slightly, "Right let's go and check out this application."

Naomi smiled at Emily's attempts to change the subject as she followed her upstairs.

_You're a terrible liar Emily Fitch because you're definitely horny, we both are, _Naomi thought as she entered her bedroom behind the redhead, _let's just hope it wasn't only the first part of that statement you were lying about._

* * *

Emily's hands were shaking slightly as she opened Naomi's laptop. The blonde was sitting impossibly close to her and although Naomi said it was so they could both see the screen Emily knew from the way their bodies 'accidentally' kept brushing against each other that wasn't the only reason.

"So you haven't been tempted to look before I arrived?" Emily asked.

Naomi shook her head, "I wanted you to do it, in case it's bad news."

Emily swallowed and nodded trying desperately to ignore the blonde's thigh pressing against hers , "I'm sure it'll all be, ahem, fine."

"Are we still talking about Oxford?" Naomi asked with a cheeky grin.

Emily moaned quietly, Naomi was determined to keep winding her up, or rather working her up. She knew fine well that Naomi hadn't believed the bit about her not being horny. Fucking hell they were both like animals on heat, she'd be surprised if they weren't giving off some powerful pheromones attracting every dog, cat and bloody rabbit in the neighbourhood.

"So," Naomi started as she gently ran her fingers up and down the small of Emily's back, "I missed our phone conversation last night."

_Oh Jesus, she must know what this is doing to me, _Emily thought as the contact of Naomi's fingertips sent a shiver up her spine and she fought to keep her eyes focused on the screen. She risked a quick sideways glance at the blonde but she was staring at the computer.

"Er, yeah. I missed it too, surprising how things can become a habit so easily." Emily managed to croak out.

Naomi knew exactly the effect her stroking was having on Emily but she was enjoying teasing her girlfriend while acting like nothing was happening.

The blonde leaned over and whispered into the redhead's ear, Are you saying you're addicted to me?"

Emily gulped as the hairs on her neck stood on end as Naomi's breath tickled them.

"Look, just stop it, please. We need to concentrate on your UCAS progress." Emily pleaded.

Naomi feigned surprise, "Stop what?"

Emily narrowed her eyes, "You know exactly what. The back rubbing, the suggestive remarks, the seductive voice. Stop it, all of it, right now."

The blonde raised her eyebrow, "Is it getting you all hot and bothered?"

"Naomi! I mean it, if you want me to look at this for you then you need to stop being all super sultry and sexy. There's not much you can do about looking the way you do, all hot and so damn fuckable, but you don't need to make it worse. I'm hanging by a thread here." Emily growled at her girlfriend.

Naomi started to laugh as she removed her hand and created some space between them, "Sorry, it's not like I wasn't getting all worked up either. Aren't you in yet?"

Emily pointed, "You need to enter your details."

Naomi leaned over and began to type, giving Emily a bird's eye view of her cleavage. The redhead swore she did it on purpose but then again maybe she was seeing innuendo and provocation in everything these days. She hastily averted her eyes and moved further away.

"Em, I'm not going to bite you. Well not unless you want me to?" Naomi said with a wink.

Emily rose from the computer, "Seriously Naoms, I'm not doing this if you keep on like that. You can fucking well find out if you got into Oxford yourself."

The blonde grew serious, "I'm sorry, I really need you to check for me. I'm... well I'm too scared to do it myself. What if they've rejected me?"

Emily immediately sat back down and took Naomi's hands in her own, "Hey, it's not the end of the world if you don't get in. You said yourself it's a tough process and most people aren't accepted. You should be proud of yourself for getting this far, I know I'm proud of you."

"You are?" Naomi said unsurely.

Emily nodded, "Yeah, in case you'd forgotten I pretty much think everything about you is amazing."

Naomi smiled warmly, "I hadn't forgotten and you know that's back atcha times ten don't you?"

The redhead took a deep breath, "So shall I check? And remember it doesn't matter what the answer is, I love you and if it's a no, which I don't think it will be, it's stupid Oxford's loss for turning down someone as brilliant as you."

Naomi shook her head and tenderly kissed Emily, "Thank you. I love you too."

Emily pointed at the computer and Naomi nodded before turning away. She really couldn't face seeing Emily's reaction if the answer was no. She wanted Emily to be as proud of her as she knew she was going to be when the redhead got into Oxford. It wasn't even a competitive thing, she just dreaded letting Emily down and didn't ever want to disappoint her. She could hear mumbling next to her as Emily scrolled down the screen. In spite of her nerves she really hoped Emily would bloody hurry up, the suspense was killing her.

"Um hum... I see...Oh..." Emily muttered.

Naomi's heart fell, Emily would be more excited if it was a yes.

"Never mind, we'll manage." Emily said quietly.

Naomi looked back towards her girlfriend, anticipating the look of disappointment she knew was coming. She shrugged her shoulders, "I'm really sorry Em, I did my best. I guess it wasn't good enough."

"Look at the screen Naomi." Emily commanded.

Reluctantly the blonde stared at her application, "Eh? But it says successful?"

Emily squealed beside her, "I know it does. Oh my God Naomi, you got in, you actually got into Oxford and all they want from you is two Es because you've been through their selection process."

Naomi continued to stare at the screen almost unable to believe what she was seeing, she'd done it, she'd managed to get into the top politics course in the country. But more importantly she'd managed to get into the university her girlfriend would be attending and they could continue studying together, maybe even live together, the world was their oyster. She felt absolutely fucking fantastic and it was all down to Emily.

Her cry of delight echoed around the room and she picked up the redhead and twirled her until they both felt dizzy.

"I wouldn't have had the confidence to even apply if it wasn't for you. You're the most wonderful, amazing, fantastic person in the world you know that?" Naomi said staring deeply into the happy brown eyes gazing back at her.

"No, you did this Naomi, it was all down to you. I didn't even know you'd applied remember?" Emily replied shyly.

Naomi shook her head, "Don't argue, if I say it's because of you, it is."

"Alright, what if we agree it was partly both of us and our great teamwork?" Emily finally conceded with a smile.

Naomi signalled her assent by drawing the redhead towards her and kissing her deeply.

"So how much more 'hot and damn fuckable' do I look now?" Naomi said teasingly as she pulled away slightly.

Emily felt her mouth go totally dry as she stared at the jubilant blonde. She knew Naomi had been joking but repeating her own words back to her had the instant effect of making Emily remember exactly what she'd been thinking at the time she uttered them.

"Fuck this for a game of soldiers." Emily stated before she crashed her lips against Naomi's again, instantly plunging her tongue into her girlfriend's mouth.

Naomi found herself being propelled towards the bed as Emily continued to assault her lips and the redhead's hands ripped open her shirt, not caring about any buttons that might get in the way. She felt the back of her legs connect with the bed frame sending them both sprawling onto the mattress.

"Fucking sleeves." Emily said between kisses as she continued to claw at the blonde's clothes. "You could bloody help me here."

"You're giving in?" Naomi questioned.

Emily paused and shot her a look.

Naomi exhaled, "Thank God for that. Me too."

Emily grinned as they continued to remove each others clothes with little care. Soon they were on the bed naked and they paused, brown eyes and blue roaming each others exposed flesh with barely disguised hunger. Suddenly the eyes were followed by hands everywhere; stroking, caressing and kneading the skin that haunted their dreams, all the time their lips never breaking contact.

Naomi frowned slightly as Emily pulled away but found herself moaning loudly as the redhead began kissing her neck, sucking her pulse point before biting into the soft flesh and then soothing it with her tongue. Emily ran her hands along the blonde's arms before she interlaced their fingers and roughly pushed them above Naomi's head as she lowered herself onto her girlfriend.

Involuntarily Naomi opened her legs as Emily began to grind against her, desperately seeking as much friction as she could. The redhead pushed their bodies together as she moved, wanting as much skin to be in contact as possible. She pulled back and stared into Naomi's eyes as her hips moved against the blonde purposefully.

Normally Naomi hated it when she wasn't in total control but she loved it when Emily was like this, she was wanton and there was wildness about her that Naomi found unbelievably sexy. Usually it would take more precise stimulation than this to make either of them come, but Naomi knew as she stared into Emily's darkened, lust filled eyes that her girlfriend wasn't going to need much help in that department. Naomi opened her legs slightly more widely causing her clit to rub tantalisingly against Emily's as she ground into her.

The throaty growl that escaped the redhead's mouth sent shivers up and down Naomi's body and she felt a twinge deep inside her. She wrestled her hands free and scraped her nails down Emily's back, eliciting another low moan in the process. Her hands came to rest on Emily's buttocks and Naomi pressed hard against them increasing the pressure of their contact.

"Oh fuck...yes" Emily cried out.

"Feel's good huh?" Naomi asked with a smile.

Emily bit her lip and nodded, never breaking their rhythm. Nothing had ever felt better and she could feel the fire starting in her abdomen before it travelled south. Oh Christ this was going to be one hell of an orgasm. She felt her eyes begin to close before they snapped open at Naomi's command.

"Don't" Naomi instructed in a whisper.

Just knowing Naomi wanted to look at her as she came undone was enough to send her hurtling over the edge and Emily cried out again as the fire spread throughout her whole body causing every nerve ending she had to explode at once. All she could feel was the pressure of the blonde pressing against her, driving her harder and harder through her climax. All she could see was the deep blue eyes, staring at her intensely, wide with wonder as she drank in the sight before her, prolonging the ecstasy more than ever before.

Eventually Emily collapsed onto the blonde, panting heavily as their sweat mingled together. She felt Naomi's arms wrap around her and soft kisses being planted on her shoulder. It was enough to snap her out of the post orgasmic fug she was in. This wasn't over yet, not by a long chalk. Emily Fitch was far from finished.

"You haven't come yet?" it was more a statement of intent than a question.

Naomi shook her head, "Not quite."

"Good." Emily uttered devilishly as she moved down the blonde's body.

Naomi exhaled loudly as the redhead began planting hot, open mouthed kisses on her, alternating between sucking and licking. Naomi hoped Emily knew this was no time for teasing but couldn't help moaning as her girlfriend's mouth found her nipple and her tongue swirled deliberately across the peak instantly making it harder. The same attention was paid to Naomi's other breast before the redhead continued her journey, stopping briefly to plunge her tongue tantalisingly into Naomi's belly button.

"Please Em," Naomi said pleadingly.

She had no need to worry because there was only one destination Emily was interested in as she moved quickly down the bed and between the blonde's thighs. Naomi drew in a sharp breath as the redheads mouth clamped firmly round her clit and Emily sucked hard on the already engorged bundle of nerves causing Naomi's cunt to twinge again.

Emily continued to pull at her girlfriend's clit, stopping only to graze her teeth across it. Naomi hissed and Emily thought she might be hurting her but she knew any pain had turned to pleasure when Naomi moaned loudly. So once again Emily began her assault as she slowly circled it with her tongue before sucking it hard into her mouth.

"Oh...God..." Naomi uttered breathlessly as Emily's tongue flicked rhythmically, the pace immediately rapid, this wasn't a time for a slow build up.

Naomi raised her hips and one hand flew behind her head as she gripped the pillow frantically. Almost without her realising it her other hand found it's way into Emily's hair, her fingers pushing the redhead even nearer. Emily moaned at the increased contact, the reverberations doing nothing to quell the fire that was already spreading through Naomi's body.

Naomi wondered briefly why on earth either of them had ever thought not doing this was a good idea but all rational thought left her brain as she felt Emily's fingers slide through her wetness and the blonde moaned loudly as she felt one and then two fingers being pushed deep and hard inside her. Emily immediately matched the speed of her fingers to that of her tongue.

Naomi was so close she was surprised she hadn't burst but she wanted to experience this feeling of pleasure for as long as possible. It was a good plan until Emily curled her fingers inside Naomi, the tips hitting the right spot straight away, something she knew would drive Naomi crazy. As she continued to firmly stroke inside the blonde she felt her girlfriend start to quiver beneath her and her walls closed in tightly around her fingers, gripping them in place.

"Oh...my...uugggghhhhh," the rest of Naomi's sentence was lost as the most powerful orgasm she'd ever had ripped through her body.

Emily was relentless, continuing to stroke and suck, teasing the aftershocks from the blonde until she was sure Naomi was completely finished. She gently withdrew her fingers and placed a tender kiss on Naomi's rippling stomach before making her way up the bed to her stunned girlfriend.

Naomi lay back against the pillow which her hand was still tightly gripping, her chest was heaving as she struggled to catch her breath. She felt Emily's lips softly press against her own and she could taste herself on the redhead. Slowly she opened her eyes and was met by the sparkling brown ones staring back at her.

"Everything ok?" Emily asked with a small laugh.

"That was... I mean... fuck." Naomi said falteringly as words failed her. How could any words be sufficient to describe what the hell that was?

Emily smiled as she snuggled into Naomi's side and placed her arm across the blonde's still undulating chest.

"Your heart's beating like crazy" Emily stated.

Naomi shook her head, "Are you surprised? I thought I was going to have a heart attack."

She moved her arm around the redhead and pulled her in closer before kissing her passionately.

When they pulled apart Emily smiled at her, "Hot and dirty sex, phft well that showed them."

Naomi looked confused, "Showed who?"

"Katie and Effy of course. Katie was banging on about it in the car on the way over." Emily said like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

Naomi began to laugh, "Are you telling me we just had the best sex of my life to get one over on Katie?"

Emily tutted, "No, of course not. We just had amazing sex because for some stupid reason I thought 'going slow' was a great idea and I haven't been able to touch my incredibly, incredibly gorgeous girlfriend properly in months. Sticking it to Katie is just a bonus."

"God you two are so competitive. So Em, what do you fancy studying today?" Naomi asked with a twinkle in her eye, they both knew there was no chance of any work getting done.

"Hmmm, I was thinking about _taking_ a new subject." Emily said as she rose slowly on to her side and began to lightly run her fingers across Naomi's stomach.

Naomi propped herself up on her elbows, "Really? And will this subject need a lot of studying?"

Emily nodded as her hand moved upwards before she ran her palm across Naomi's nipple, "I was thinking it would probably take all day... and most of the night."

The redhead squealed as Naomi flipped her and pinned her down, "So what is this new subject you've developed a fascination for then?"

They both knew the answer but it still made Naomi shiver when the redhead huskily whispered "You."

_Like I said, I was far from finished, _Emily thought with a smile as Naomi moved in and captured her lips again.


	15. Chapter 15

**A/N: Hello, I haven't updated this for a while so I hope some of you are still interested. Mainly Keffy action here but some nice Naomily too I think. Thanks for the reviews and alerts, it really means a lot. That's all folks, hope you enjoy.**

* * *

Katie stirred and half opened one eye, well there was no point in exerting herself if she didn't need to. Automatically she reached across the bed and frowned as she felt the other side of it was empty. The sheet was cold so she knew Effy had been gone a while. A small sigh escaped her lips, she hated waking up alone, it always made her feel safer if she woke up with the brunette close to her, their body heat mingling or with an arm wrapped around her. Sometimes she wished she didn't care, then it wouldn't matter if Effy was there or not, she'd just wake up and that would be that. But Katie did care and it always felt slightly wrong if her girlfriend had disappeared.

She rolled onto her back and a louder sigh came from her mouth as she rubbed her eyes. She wasn't sure when her world started to feel askew if Effy wasn't around but it had crept up on her and now she was scared. She was Katie fucking Fitch and she didn't like feeling frightened, she wasn't afraid of anything. She'd deliberately stayed home Friday night, some of it was because she wanted to try to sort this out in her own head but mostly because she wanted to talk to Emily.

* * *

_Katie walked into the bedroom and found Emily on her phone. The older twin plonked herself down on her bed and waited for her sister to finish the call._

_"Erm Naomi, Katie hasn't gone out tonight so I should probably go and I'll see you tomorrow." Emily said with a frown._

_There was a pause as Naomi spoke and Emily sighed loudly, "I know baby, I'm sorry too. I love you, night."_

_She put the phone down and glared at her sister, "I thought you'd be at Effy's."_

_Katie shook her head, "I'm going over tomorrow morning. I thought we could hang out for a bit, you know like old times."_

_Emily snorted, "What do you want K?"_

_"I don't want anything! I'm hurt you even suggested it." Katie replied indignantly._

_Emily's eyebrow raised, "Katie Fitch, you're as transparent as that window. Now either spit it out or fuck off and leave me alone."_

_Katie narrowed her eyes, "I can't wait for the day you and Naomi start having sex again, because at the moment you're a complete and utter grumpy bitch."_

_Emily sighed, "Sorry, sometimes the frustration get's too much. But I know you Katie and I know there's something you want to talk to me about."_

_Katie sat on Emily's bed and cleared her throat, "promise you won't take the piss?"_

_Emily shrugged, "Depends what it is."_

_"Please Em, this is really important to me and I need your advice." Katie said quietly._

_Emily softened, "Ok, I promise I'll take you seriously. What's up?"_

_Katie pulled at a loose thread on the duvet cover, "When did you know you loved Naomi?"_

_Emily's eyes widened, she hadn't been expecting this, "Erm, I'm not sure, at some point when we were in Cyprus I suppose."_

_"So you didn't know straight away but not that long after you'd met?" Katie questioned._

_Emily paused, "Actually I do know. We had a falling out and instead of going down to the pool the next day I went to the beach, partly because I didn't want to see Naomi and partly because I wanted to punish her. It was the most miserable day of my holiday, I just felt so lonely, like something was missing and I couldn't stop thinking about her. That's when I admitted my feelings were more than a crush or lust and I was certain I loved her when she came to find me that night because she'd missed me too and wanted to check I was ok."_

_"So thinking about someone all the time and missing them when you're not with them means you're in love with them?" Katie asked cautiously._

_Emily shrugged, "It can mean that yeah, but there are plenty of other things too."_

_Katie finally looked at her twin, "Like what?"_

_"Do you think you might be in love with Effy?" Emily asked gently._

_The twin's gaze dropped to the bed again, "I don't know, maybe."_

_Emily took her hand, "And you're scared in case she doesn't feel the same way back?"_

_"I just want to be sure before I tell her and I don't know how I can be certain." Katie said in a small voice._

_"Look K, I get the fact it's scary, Jesus I was petrified I'd blurt it out too soon to Naomi and it would send her running for the hills. But having some time to get used to it myself was pretty helpful, so maybe that'll work for you too. Don't put any pressure on yourself, just really think how you feel when you're with Effy and probably more importantly when she's not there." Emily offered._

_Katie nodded, "I suppose I can do that. But it doesn't stop me being terrified that she'll laugh in my face or something."_

_Emily tutted, "I'm not really the best person to ask about that, I mean after Naomi plucked up the courage to tell me she was in love with me, I walked away from her, sunk half a bottle of vodka and kissed her best friend. But I don't think Effy would ever be cruel enough to laugh at you Katie, she's he might not be ready to tell you she loves you but it's obvious she really cares about you."_

_Katie looked up with a small smile, "Really?"_

_Emily nodded, "She adores you, everyone can see it."_

_The smile widened, "Thanks Em, that's really helped."_

_Emily reached over for a hug, "Anytime."_

_"Anytime, except when you want to talk dirty to your girlfriend over the phone." Katie responded with a smirk._

_Emily immediately began to blush, "I have no idea what you're talking about."_

_Katie snorted, "Walls have ears Em, James overheard you the other night."_

_"The little fucker, I'm going to kill him, JAMES, STOP BLOODY LISTENING TO MY PRIVATE PHONE CALLS YOU PERV." Emily shouted as she ran from the room._

_Katie laughed to herself as she heard her brother's cries of pain, he'd never learn._

* * *

Katie was brought back to the present by a muffled scuffing noise and a shout of "fuck" from the other side of the bedroom door. She got up and gingerly opened it to find Effy standing the other side holding a tray in her hands.

"Get back into bed, you'll ruin it otherwise." the brunette commanded.

Katie left the door open and obediently did as she was told. That was another thing that pissed her off about being in a relationship, she didn't care when Effy bossed her around, in fact she quite liked it when her girlfriend took charge. It made her feel cared for but also a bit vulnerable.

Effy came into the room, kicked the door shut behind her and made her way over, "Here we are madam, one breakfast in bed."

The twin looked at the tray which was brimming with all her favourite things, "To what do I owe this honour?"

"Do I need a reason to spoil my woman?" Effy asked in mock indignation.

Katie shook her head, "Of course not, it's just no one has ever made me breakfast in bed before."

Effy kissed Katie's forehead as she sat on the bed next to her and grabbed a slice of toast, "Then I'm glad it's another first I can share with you, may it be one in a long line of many."

Katie continued to stare at the tray slightly flabbergasted by her girlfriend's attention to detail. Effy had remembered just how she liked her toast, buttered right up to the edge with a large dollop of jam in the middle because she loved spreading it herself but liked it to melt first. The rashers of bacon had the rind cut off but they weren't wasted just put on a separate plate so she could eat them first. The eggs were lightly poached and Effy had removed all the stray bits around the outside because she knew Katie found them too wobbly.

"Come on babe, eat up or it'll go cold and all that effort will be wasted." Effy said giving her a nudge.

Katie picked up the crispy bacon rind and crunched it in her mouth. Her brain was whizzing around at a million miles an hour as it had been ever since she and Emily had talked. Her sister told her to think about how she felt about Effy and it was something she'd done almost obsessively since. She could hear her girlfriend speaking in the background but she wasn't really listening because there was only one thought repeating loudly in her head. It was the same thought she'd had yesterday morning when Effy opened the door to her with such a perfect smile it instantly made her day better, it was the same thought she'd had when Effy's blue eyes locked on to her's when they'd had sex yesterday afternoon, it was the same thought she'd had when she fell asleep with the brunette's arms wrapped tightly round her and it was the only thought she had when she saw how carefully Effy had made her breakfast in bed.

_I love her, I love her, I love her, I love her, I love her, I love her, I love her, I love her, I love her, I love her..._

Katie looked up and stared at Effy like she was seeing her for the first time, the brunette stopped talking immediately and stared back. Tears welled up in Katie's eyes.

"What's wrong Katie?" Effy asked with genuine concern.

Katie shook her head, "Nothing, there's absolutely nothing wrong at all."

Effy looked confused, "So why are you crying?"

Katie shrugged, "I'm just a bit overwhelmed by how special you make me feel sometimes."

Effy shuffled over and enveloped her in a tight hug, "You are special Katie, all I'm doing is making you start to believe it."

She tipped her girlfriend's chin and softly kissed her, "and don't ever let anyone tell you otherwise."

_Do it, tell her now, it's perfect_, screamed Katie's brain.

"Eff, I...I...love...err I loved my breakfast, thank you." Katie mumbled while feeling like a total sell out.

Effy searched her girlfriend's eyes and could sense there was something different about her, but she could also see Katie was scared so she didn't push her, "Like I said I want to spoil you as much as I can, if you'll let me."

Katie smiled, "I think I'd like that a lot."

* * *

"Oh Naomi...God….yes...oh fuuuuucccckkkkk." Emily cried out, trying and failing to be quiet so Gina wouldn't hear. She collapsed forward against Naomi who was sitting with her back to the wall while the redhead straddled her.

Once her breathing had slowed Emily opened her eyes and stared into the amused blue ones that were fixed on her "You're a cruel woman Campbell."

"Who'd have guessed I could be so controlled?" Naomi said with a laugh.

"Not me." Emily replied with a grumble.

Naomi tilted her head, "Hmmm, what was it you said this morning? Oh that's right 'have some patience, don't you know good things come to those who wait?' I was simply testing that theory out on you."

The redhead sighed she should have known it was a mistake to tease the blonde earlier, pressing her tongue hard enough to drive her crazy but never quite going fast enough to make her come until Naomi pleaded with her and begged for release. Emily had felt pretty smug after that little performance, never dreaming her girlfriend had the will power to quickly reverse the roles. She expected to come quickly once she straddled Naomi and the blonde pushed two fingers inside her. Instead Naomi had moved her fingers agonisingly slowly and had held Emily in place with her free arm so she couldn't move her hips to try to create the additional friction she craved. Naomi's amusement had increased in proportion to the growing frustration from her girlfriend until Emily couldn't stand the torture anymore and implored Naomi to let her come. The look of victory on Naomi's face as she finally gave the redhead what she'd asked for was still grating on Emily which is why there was currently a pout on her face.

Naomi raised her eyebrow, "How can you be grumpy after the 24 hours we've just had?"

Emily smiled, "You're right, I'm sorry. So you got me to beg, meh."

They had spent virtually the whole of yesterday in bed, only surfacing to get something to eat late in the evening. Gina had offered to cook them dinner and mentioned a film that was on that night but Naomi had grabbed some things from the fridge, including a couple of beers, and muttered something about having to study. Emily had felt a bit bad because it was pretty rude of them but that feeling disappeared as soon as they got back to Naomi's bedroom. It was definitely a distant memory by the time the redhead found herself pressed against the door while Naomi knelt in front of her pleasuring her expertly with her tongue.

Emily jumped as there was a knock at the door, she stared at Naomi in panic and started to move off the blonde. She was surprised as she felt Naomi pull her closer.

"_Naomi_," Emily hissed, "We're both naked and your fingers are still inside me, bit of a give away don't you think?"

"You're not going anywhere," the blonde whispered before calling out in a calm voice, "What is it Mum?"

"Can I come in?" Gina answered from the other side of the door.

Naomi watched as the panic increased on Emily's face before replying, "Not right now, Emily and I are in the middle of a crucial piece of work."

"What if she walks in?" Emily asked breathlessly.

"This is my room, nobody comes in here unless I say so." Naomi said with a smirk.

"Sorry I didn't mean to disturb you it's just Effy and Katie are downstairs." Gina's voice travelled through the door again.

"Did they say what they wanted?" Naomi questioned as she lightly grazed her thumb across Emily's nipple causing her breath to hitch.

"Something about planning for Manchester." Came the reply.

Emily yelped slightly as she felt Naomi's fingers start to move inside her.

"Are you ok Emily love?" Gina's concerned voice enquired.

"Hmmmm, yes, I'm fine." Emily squeaked back, only partly able to disguise a moan that had crept out of her mouth.

"Give us five, ouch! Make that 15 minutes and we'll be down." Naomi stated.

As they heard Gina's retreating steps Emily leant down and kissed the skin where she made a mark when she pinched Naomi, "Sorry but five minutes was never going to be a goer."

Naomi was about to reply when the redhead entered her firmly causing her to gasp and roll her head back.

_I wouldn't be so sure about that Em, this isn't going to take long at all_ was her last thought before she turned her full attention back to the redhead.

* * *

Gina walked back into the kitchen where Effy and Katie stopped their hushed conversation abruptly. Honestly all four of them acted like they were spies or something sometimes, creeping around and holding whispered conversations. She and Jenna had been having a laugh about it the other day when she went over for coffee. None of the parents could quite believe that Effy and Katie were still together, in fact they seemed to be getting closer by the day. But the most amusement was reserved for Naomi and Emily who in spite of all the indications otherwise were still trying to pretend they were 'just good friends'.

"They're in the middle of something important but will be down in 15 minutes." Gina relayed to the girls who shot each other knowing glances.

Gina helped herself to a cup of tea and sat at the table, "So how are things with the pair of you?"

Both girls reddened, "Ummm, good thanks, really great."

Gina smiled, she had known Effy since she was a little girl in pigtails, big toothy smile but always with an attitude, she was cheeky as anything, something that turned to a dry sarcasm as she got older. Unfortunately she and Naomi shared many of the same character traits so as you can imagine the pair of them caused quite a few headaches for both Mums when they became rebellious teenagers, once you added Cook into the mix it was every mother's worst nightmare. But these days Gina noticed there was a calmness about Effy that she hadn't seen before, a serenity no one was in any doubt had everything to do with the girl sitting next to her holding her hand tightly.

"So Gina, how do Em and Naoms seem to you?" Effy started cautiously.

Gina snorted, "I'm sure I had a daughter once called Naomi, tallish, blonde, bit of a moody cow. But these days the young woman who spends most of her time locked away in her room with a certain redhead is actually quite pleasant to be around. You Fitch twins must have some secret magical power if you can tame these two."

Effy smiled at her girlfriend, who shyly returned her smile "She has."

Katie looked a bit embarrassed and swiftly changed the subject, "So have they been locked away all weekend?"

Gina nodded, "I wasn't in when Emily arrived but I didn't get a peep out of either of them until late evening when they came downstairs for about five minutes to grab some food. They couldn't get back up to Naomi's room quick enough, giggling all the time. After that I haven't had any contact other than the quick conversation through the door. They must be studying very hard."

Katie snorted, "I'm sure they are, it's what they're studying I'm interested in."

Effy nudged her, "K, not now."

Gina laughed, "Come on girls, none of us are stupid enough to believe that 'just good friends' bullshit, we weren't born yesterday. In fact Jenna and I were having a good laugh about it the other day."

"I'm not sure Em would appreciate Mum taking the piss." Katie responded with a frown.

"It wasn't cruel love, it's just funny the way they think they're being subtle when they're all over each other most of the time." Gina replied gently.

"Come on Katie, we're hardly any easier on them. Seriously Gina they've been sneaking off together in school and we just know they're up to something but we haven't managed to catch them yet." Effy informed Naomi's Mum.

"Oh, I forgot to tell you..." Katie started before she glanced nervously at Gina.

"Don't mind me love, I'm sure I've heard it all before"

"James overheard Emily on the phone the other night, he said it was really filthy and even Gordon MacPherson didn't understand some of the words." Katie relayed excitedly.

Effy snorted, "See I told you they'd be doing more than kissing by now. Naomi looks like she wants to rip Emily's clothes off practically every time she sees her."

"Ems isn't much better, did you see that look she gave Naomi in school the other day? She looked like an animal stalking its prey. I'm surprised more people haven't picked up on it to be honest." Katie said with a grin.

"Yeah, well let's hope it stays that way, especially with people like Melissa sniffing around again." Effy responded thoughtfully.

Gina sighed, "Is she still on the scene. Jenna really can't stand her you know."

"None of us can Gina, she's a bitch and the sooner she realises Emily isn't interested the better, it just seems to be taking some time to get it into her thick head." Katie sneered.

Gina sighed, "I hope she doesn't cause too much trouble for them."

"She'd better not or she'll have us to answer to." Effy replied menacingly.

Gina smiled, she didn't think Naomi and Emily had much to worry about with the brunette and her girlfriend on Melissa's case, "it's been more than 15 minutes, shall I go and check where they've got to?"

Effy winked at Katie, "Nah, leave them be, I'm sure I know exactly where they've got to and they'll be even more grumpy bitches if we interrupt them doing _that_."

The pair of them burst into giggles and Gina shook her head, _honestly they're like five year olds sometimes._

* * *

Naomi walked back into her room after having a quick shower to find Emily wearing only her underwear. She was bending down to put moisturiser on her legs which gave the blonde a perfect view of her arse. A low moan escaped from Naomi's throat.

"Jesus Em, do you have to be such a tease?" she said in a slightly annoyed tone.

Emily turned to her with a smirk, "Yep."

Naomi narrowed her eyes, "You planned this, just to get me all worked up again before we go downstairs."

Emily raised her eyebrow, "It might not have been a total coincidence I was in that position when you came back from the bathroom."

"Right, that does it, come here." Naomi strode purposefully across the room and pushed Emily onto the bed.

The redhead squealed as the blonde lay on top of her and started to grind against her leg, "Naomi, we really must talk about your voracious sexual appetite, I think you might be an addict, you need help."

"The only thing I need help with is stopping you taunting me in your underwear straight after you've made me shower on my own." Naomi replied with a scowl.

Emily snorted and pushed the blonde off her, "We could hardly shower at the same time could we? Not with the Thompson twins downstairs."

"I suppose not." Naomi replied grudgingly.

Emily reached over and undid Naomi's towel, "Anyway, I'm not the one lying on the bed wearing nothing but a frown."

"Hey! That's not fair." Naomi said in outrage.

Emily smiled sweetly and walked over to her girlfriend with the moisturiser in her hand, she squeezed a blob onto Naomi's chest and began to rub the cream into her skin, "Who said anything about playing fair?"

Naomi's eyes closed and she allowed herself to enjoy the feeling of Emily's hands massaging her. She was getting lost in a very nice little fantasy when she felt a sharp slap against her hip. Her eyes opened and she frowned, "I was enjoying that."

"I could tell by the whimpering noises coming from your mouth," Emily said with a smile, "now hurry up and get dressed, we've already been longer than 15 minutes. You don't want them to come up and find you like that do you?"

"I suppose we need to get downstairs, the gruesome twosome won't leave us alone otherwise." Naomi said regretfully.

Emily rolled her eyes, "Exactly. I suggest we get our story straight before we face the knowing looks and smug glances."

Naomi raised her eyebrow, "Would that be the story that we're still going slow and although you stayed over nothing happened last night?"

Emily nodded, "The very same."

"So we definitely didn't spend the whole day in bed yesterday?" Naomi said with a grin.

"No we didn't, although you'd better wipe that enormous smile off your face, it's a dead giveaway." Emily said with a roll of her eyes.

"And we definitely haven't had sex this morning, three times." The blonde enquired.

Emily shook her head, "Anyway we've only had sex twice this morning."

"So far..." Naomi said hopefully.

Emily tutted, "Seriously, you're a sex addict. Now get dressed."

"You can hardly blame me, it's been months since we had sex and we've got a lot of catching up to do." Naomi grumbled as she put on her underwear.

"Naomi, I don't want either of them thinking we've given in, we'll never get a moment's peace." Emily chastised.

The blonde paused, "You don't regret it do you?"

Emily studied her, trying to work out if she was joking, "Oh come on Naomi, you can't be serious?"

Naomi shrugged, "I just wanted to check. I'd hate for you to feel disappointed we broke the rules."

Emily laughed and took her hand as they left the room on their way to the kitchen, "Naoms, keep giving me orgasms this good and I doubt I'll ever be disappointed again."

* * *

Effy, Katie and Gina looked at the door as the pair of them walked into the kitchen desperately trying to look like they weren't a couple. They were trying far too hard, not touching at all at what they clearly thought was the 'correct' distance between them.

Gina got up, "I'll leave you to plan girls, if you want anything I'll be in the garden."

"Thanks Gina." came the chorus of replies.

"What kept you bitches?" Katie snapped once Gina had left.

Naomi shrugged, "We both needed a shower after we'd finished our work."

Effy glanced at their wet hair, "Did you shower alone or did you conserve water by showering together, like the good little environmentalists you both are?"

Emily shot her a withering glance, "we showered separately of course."

Katie raised her eyebrow, "Yeah right, course you did."

"We did!" Emily said indignantly, safe in the knowledge that she could be emphatic because she was telling the truth. Her only fear was how they would react if pushed on what they'd been doing the rest of the time she'd been here. Her fear was well founded.

"Alright we believe you, you didn't shower together, but I still bet you needed to wash because you were all sweaty from sex." Effy said knowingly while staring at the pair of them.

Emily could feel herself staring to blush but Naomi remained calm, "Believe what you like, we know nothing happened and that's all that matters, right Em?"

Taking her cue from the blonde Emily nodded, "Yeah, it's not our fault if your minds are constantly in the gutter. Cup of tea babe?"

Naomi caught her eye and winked, "I'll get it, you sit down."

Emily joined them at the table and secretly smiled when she saw their bemused expressions, "So Manchester, what's occurin?"

Naomi placed the mug of tea in front of her girlfriend and sat next to her. "God you two are obvious, you'd be crap at real espionage."

Effy snorted, "We're obvious? What about you two? That little 'we're a couple but trying to look like we're not' entrance was fucking awful."

Emily shrugged, "Whatevs, now back to planning Manchester."

"I've booked the train tickets, because it was early enough I've managed to get first class at only a couple of quid more than standard." Naomi confirmed.

Emily smiled and kissed her, "You're so clever baby."

Naomi grinned and kissed Emily back, "I know."

Katie rolled her eyes, "Oh Naomi, you're sooo dreamy. Please, you're so screwing."

Naomi and Emily ignored her, "So what about a hotel?"

Effy smiled at her girlfriend, "Actually we thought we'd book an apartment, that way if we want to eat in we can save a bit of money. As there's four of us it works out cheaper than two hotel rooms."

Emily slowly nodded her head, "Sounds fine to me."

A sly smile spread across her twin's face, "The best one we found has only got one bedroom, you guys would need to sleep on the sofa bed in the lounge."

"That's not fair, why do you automatically get the bedroom?" Naomi challenged.

"We'll you two aren't sleeping together right? I figured Katie and I would need the privacy more, so we get the room, simples." Effy responded innocently.

Emily scowled, "We might be having sex by then."

Katie sighed, "I know but let's not fight about it, we'll allocate the room on what's happening now, so unless you want to fess up and admit you're lying and really you've been at it like rabbits, then I'm sorry the room is ours."

Naomi shot Emily a look and they both pursed their lips, "Fine, we'll have the sofa bed."

"Excellent, as I've already booked it. So what are we going to do on the Friday night? I know it's an obvious choice but I fancy Canal street, I've always wanted to go since Tony made me watch Queer as Folk." Effy opined.

Emily nervously glanced at Naomi, "I'm not sure about going to a gay area, Naomi and I aren't really out as a couple."

Katie sighed, "Sorry guys, we didn't think about that."

Naomi shook her head, "Come on, Canal Street is legendary, we can't go to Manchester and not go. It'll be ok Em, I promise."

Emily looked surprised, "But I thought you didn't want anyone to know about us or the fact you were gay yet?"

Naomi turned to her, "that's _here_ Em. I don't want to face that yet with people at school and stuff. It's different if we're somewhere where no one knows us, I was fine in Cyprus."

Emily considered Naomi's reply, it was true the blonde had been very open when they were on holiday. "I'd like that Naomi back for a bit, even if it's only a weekend. It was nice not having to sneak around."

Naomi smiled, "I know baby and I will be ok with it soon I promise, I just don't want the extra pressure before my exams that's all, there's a lot at stake."

Emily grew excited, "Shall we tell them?"

Naomi laughed as Katie and Effy's ears pricked up, "I don't think I have a choice now do I? I'll get my Mum."

She went out to the back garden and Emily sat fidgeting with Effy and Katie, "What is it?"

Emily smiled, "You'll find out in a minute."

Gina and Naomi returned and the blonde sat her Mum down next to Emily. "I, err, hmm, well I had a bit of good news yesterday."

Effy rotated her hand urging her to carry on, "Which was?"

"Before Christmas I did some exams." Naomi said.

"You didn't tell me that love." Gina frowned.

Naomi shook her head, "I didn't tell anyone, not even Emily, in case I failed."

"As if you'd fail," Emily said with a scoff and was rewarded with a smile from the blonde.

Katie looked bored, "So you did some exams and you passed, what's the big deal?"

Naomi paused, "I got into Oxford to study politics and history, I only need two Es because I got through their selection process."

The room fell silent as they processed what Naomi had just said.

"Aren't you going to congratulate her? It's really tough to get in you know." Emily said, clearly annoyed no one was making a fuss.

Suddenly the kitchen was filled with an ear piercing scream and Gina leapt up and threw her arms around Naomi nearly knocking her over. "My clever, clever girl."

"Whoa steady on Mum, it's not like I've won the Nobel peace prize or anything." Naomi replied as her Mum continued to hug her tightly.

"I'm so proud of you, I could cry." Gina said with a sniff.

"I know you're proud of me Mum, but I can't actually breathe." Naomi responded turning bright red, partly from the asphyxiation but mostly from embarrassment.

Gina let go and stood staring at her daughter, with tears in her eyes, "I love you Naomi."

Naomi turned a deeper red, this was definitely from embarrassment, "Love you too Mum."

She turned to her friend, "Say something Eff."

"Sorry, I'm just shocked you got in..." Effy said shaking her head.

Naomi snorted, "Cheers Eff."

The brunette got up and gave her a hug, "That's not what I meant, congratulations you secretive genius."

Naomi smiled shyly, "Thanks."

They were interrupted by a mobile phone ringing, Katie looked at her caller ID and mouthed Mum at Emily, "Hi Mum."

She paused and rolled her eyes, "Ha, ha, of course you still have two daughters."

Another pause, "Yes, she's with me now, we're at Naomi's."

"No Gina doesn't mind." she looked to the older blonde for confirmation.

Eventually she tutted, "Yes of course we were planning on coming home for dinner."

Emily pulled a face, actually she hadn't been planning on that at all.

"Ok Mum, see you in a bit." Katie stated as she hung up. "Apparently we're expected at home for a family Sunday lunch."

Emily looked apologetically at Naomi, "Sorry baby, I'd better go, we can celebrate another time."

Naomi pulled her into a hug and whispered in her ear, "I think we've done quite well so far."

"Hmmm, but I wanted to congratulate you again this afternoon." Emily murmured returning the hug.

"Now who's the sex addict?" Naomi said with a smile.

"I'll give you a lift if you like girls, I'm going out to buy some champagne, this deserves a proper celebration." Gina said still beaming at Naomi.

"Thanks Gina." Emily said with a sigh.

Katie kissed Effy, "I'll call you later ok?"

The brunette nodded, "Sure, enjoy your dinner."

Katie rolled her eyes, "This is my Mum's cooking we're talking about."

Gina ran excitedly to the car leaving Naomi and Emily free to kiss goodbye. The blonde and Effy watched them drive off before returning to the kitchen. Naomi pulled two beers from the fridge and handed one to Effy, they chinked the bottles together and sat back down, both lost in their thoughts.

"Are you ok? You seem a bit quiet." Effy eventually broke the silence.

Naomi nodded, "Just a bit knackered."

Effy smirked, "Oh yeah? Have you got something you want to share?"

The blonde pushed her, "Look we told you nothing happened."

Effy raised her eyebrow, "And I know you're lying, Katie told me about your little late night phone conversations."

Naomi panicked, "What do you mean?"

"James overheard Emily talking dirty over the phone, I presume it was you on the other end and not her other girlfriend." Effy replied.

Naomi sighed, she'd have to come clean, maybe it wasn't such a bad thing if it appeased them a bit, they might stop asking if she and Emily were having sex then.

"Alright, we might have been bending the rules a little bit." she confessed.

"Bending the rules?" Effy asked.

Naomi sighed and told her what happened after dinner the other week and how they'd found a room in school, finally she admitted what they'd been doing during their phone calls goodnight.

Effy shook her head, "You sneaky bastards, telling us nothing's going on when you're as good as having sex. Going slow my arse. Katie's going to kill Emily when I tell her."

"Don't tell Katie, Em will kill _me_, if she finds out I've blabbed." Naomi urged.

Effy tutted, "Naoms, I tell Katie everything and besides if it stops her feeling shit about herself I can't not tell her."

Naomi frowned, "Why does she feel shit about herself?"

"Because she's insecure about the fact that Emily is always holier than thou and she's the twin who's seen as the sex mad slapper. She feels like she's not good enough to have a relationship, I'm working on it slowly but it's pretty hard to stop her feeling like that overnight." Effy replied with a resigned sigh.

Naomi considered her friends words, "She always seems so confident, I had no idea she worried about things like that and I'm pretty sure Em doesn't have a clue either. Go ahead and tell her then if it helps her feel better."

Effy gave her a small smile, "Thanks, I'd have told her anyway but it's nice of you to give me your permission, even if Emily is going to go mental."

Naomi shrugged, "I know exactly how to get back in Emily's good books."

"I'm sure you do." Effy said with a smirk.

Naomi smiled, "hey, like Em said, get your brain out of the gutter. You really care about Katie don't you?"

For the first time in their lives Naomi saw Effy become shy, "I love her, I think on some level I always did."

"Wow, have you told Katie?" Naomi enquired.

The brunette shook her head, "No, but I think she was about to tell me earlier."

"Jesus Eff, maybe you need to say it first? If Katie is so insecure then perhaps you need to let her know you love her before she can say it back?" Naomi opined.

They jumped as Gina came back through the front door and deposited the champagne in the fridge.

"Mum, I need you to drive us over to Emily's." Naomi requested.

"But I've only just got back." Gina said.

Naomi smiled, "Yeah, I know but please Mum, Effy needs to go over, it's really important."

Gina stared at the pair of them looking at her beseechingly and rolled her eyes, "Well if it's important then I don't really have a choice, come on then."

Naomi hugged her, "Thanks Mum, I knew you'd understand."

Gina picked her car keys up from the worktop and shook her head, she wasn't sure she understood anything about her daughter and her friends anymore.

* * *

Emily and Katie stared at the bowl in front of them, it was a light green colour and very watery.

"What do you think it is?" Emily hissed out of the side of her mouth.

"Disgusting." Was her twin's reply.

"Come on girls, tuck in." Rob said with a smile.

"Er, what is it Mum?" Emily asked tentatively.

Jenna beamed at them, "It's a new recipe, spinach and cinnamon."

Katie took a mouthful and only just stopped herself gagging, "Hmmm, tasty Mum."

"This tastes like bollocky wank shite, Gordon MacPherson's Mum is a much better cook than you." James said as he slurped his first mouthful.

"Right that's it boy, on the bar now and I want ten of your finest. Your Mum feeds us like champions, absolute champions." Rob admonished.

Emily and Katie exchanged looks as their brother swore again and went over to the chin up bar in the doorway, their Dad must know how awful the soup tasted but he always ate everything their Mum cooked because he loved her. They finally understood that, both of them would eat shards of glass if Naomi or Effy made it for them.

"So girls how are things with you both, I hardly feel like I've seen you lately." J enna asked.

Katie rolled her eyes, "Mum, we've been here most of the week."

Jenna tutted, "Yes but you're always on your phones, talking or texting to your girlfriends."

Emily sighed, "I keep telling you Naomi and I are..."

Rob laughed, "Just good friends. None of us believe that Emsie."

Emily was about to defend herself when the doorbell went, "I'll get it."

Jenna was cross, "Get rid of whoever it is, can't we even sit down to a family lunch in peace?"

As Emily went to the door the bell went again, "I'm bloody coming alright."

She opened the door and found Effy nervously standing there, followed closely behind by a smiling Naomi and Gina. "Sorry to interrupt your meal, but I need to speak to Katie, it's urgent."

"Well you'd better come in then, although Mum is pretty pissed off." Emily said as the brunette walked past her.

The redhead shot a glance at her girlfriend but Naomi remained impassive as they trouped into the dining room.

"Jenna, Rob, I'm really sorry for barging in like this but there's something I need to tell Katie." Effy said in a slightly shaky voice.

They all turned to the twin who was looking nervously at her girlfriend.

Effy took a deep breath, "Katie Fitch, I fucking love you. There I've said it and it's ok if you can't say it back yet, because it might take time but eventually I know you'll feel the same way about me too."

All eyes were on Katie as she got up from the table and stood in front of Effy, "You love me?"

"Yes, I do." came the simple reply.

A broad grin appeared on Katie's face, "I love you too."

"Really? You're not just saying that?" Effy said in surprise.

Katie shook her head, "No you twat, I tried to tell you earlier but I chickened out. I love you Effy."

Effy smiled and kissed her girlfriend, "Thank God for that, I was worried I'd make a total tit of myself."

Katie laughed, "I think you might still have done that babe."

Naomi smiled at Emily and gave her a wink, the redhead smiled warmly back.

"Rob go and get some spare chairs, there's plenty to go round." Jenna instructed.

Emily looked at Katie in horror, it was one thing them pretending their Mum's cooking was ok, but they'd never inflict it on anyone else. "I'm sure Gina has already got food in Mum."

Gina shook her head, "Nothing that won't keep, we'd love to join you."

They sat around the table making small talk while Jenna and Rob brought in the plates containing the main course. Naomi glanced down and her eyes widened as she saw the messy food in front of her. She turned to Emily who was sitting next to her, "I can't even tell what meat it is, it's so cremated."

Emily rolled her eyes, "Better it's burnt than raw. Mum served us underdone chicken once, all I'm saying is it's a good job there are three bathrooms in this house."

"Ewwww, too much information Em. What should I do, I don't want to seem rude in front of your Mum." Naomi responded as she pushed some of the food round the plate.

"Then you need to do what Katie and I do and just grin and bear it." Emily said with a sigh.

Naomi picked up a forkful and tentatively put it in her mouth, her eyes watered but she swallowed it all the same. She looked over at Effy who couldn't tear her eyes away from Katie, the brunette was happily eating away but Naomi supposed nothing was going to spoil her mood today.

"Oh Jenna, I'm really sorry, but I'm a vegetarian so I can't eat this." Gina said with barely disguised glee.

"I bloody well wish I was." James uttered looking despairingly at the food.

Rob glared at him, "Another 10 reps for that."

James willingly got up, he didn't care if it meant he didn't have to eat his dinner, his face fell at his Dad's next words, "We'll keep your food warm for you."

They continued to eat in silence until Jenna spoke, "So Naomi, Emily told us your good news, congratulations."

Naomi swallowed another mouthful of food and stared at the redhead beside her, "Thanks, but I couldn't have done it without Emily."

Emily smiled proudly at her, "I think you can do anything you set your mind to."

Naomi smiled back shyly, "Thank you, that's really sweet."

Their moment was interrupted by Rob's gruff voice, "Right since this seems to be a day for confessions are you two finally going to admit you're together? A blind man could see it a mile off."

Naomi took Emily's hand and kissed it before turning back to the table, "Yeah ok, it's a fair cop, Emily is my girlfriend and I love her very much."

"I love you too baby," Emily replied leaning in for a proper kiss.

Jenna smiled at the pair of them, "At last, all this pretending we didn't know got quite tiring."

Effy whispered something to Katie and the twin glared at her sister, "Anything else to confess Em?"

Emily shot Naomi a glance but the blonde wouldn't meet her eye, "You told Effy?"

"About school and the phone calls." Naomi said finally looking at her, willing Emily to understand.

The redhead relaxed slightly, "Right, sneaking off in school and the calls."

"You two faced cow Ems, all this bollocks about going slow." Katie said with a sneer.

Jenna, Rob and Gina looked puzzled, "Going slow?"

Naomi nodded, "Emily and I aren't sleeping together. We decided we wanted to do things properly and wait."

Emily was impressed at how calm her girlfriend seemed lying through her back teeth, she was sure she wasn't the only one who kept having flashbacks of the previous 24 hours.

"I'm glad to hear you're treating each other with respect." Rob said approvingly.

Katie snorted, "Don't kid yourself Dad, they might pretend they haven't had sex again but believe me what they are doing isn't far off it."

Emily glared across the table, "We're only bending the rules, not breaking them."

"Oh fuck off Emily, how is engaging in phone sex not breaking the rules?" Katie scoffed.

"Girls, not in front of your brother, he's too young." Jenna hissed at the bickering twins.

"It's alright I overheard Emily the other night, she was being a right filthy bitch and telling Naomi how much she wished they were together." James called out from the other side of the room where he was lifting himself labouriously towards the bar.

"That's 10 more reps boy," Rob shouted.

Jenna dropped her fork and stared at Gina, "I can't apologise enough for my children, we're not normally this dysfunctional when we have guests."

Gina laughed, "Don't worry about it, it's nice to be part of a big group."

They turned their attention back to Emily and Katie, who were still trading insults while Naomi and Effy rolled their eyes at each other. "Girls, stop it right now."

Grudgingly the squabbling stopped but Katie still poked her tongue out at Emily causing the redhead to give her the finger.

Naomi shook her head and began to laugh, "My God you two are so childish."

"It was her and not me." Emily said with a pout.

Before the fighting could recommence Naomi cupped Emily's face and kissed her, when they pulled apart the redhead was smiling again and Naomi gazed adoringly at her girlfriend.

Naomi winked at Effy, "I think I've found the perfect way to stop them arguing."

"You're definitely shagging my sister." James said sagely as he returned to the table.

Emily coughed, "Excuse me? How would you know worm?"

James stared back at her, "Because Naomi looks at you the same way Effy looked at Katie right before she fucked her in the shower last weekend."

The room fell silent and Katie shot Emily a look before they turned to James. "You were perving on me and Effy in the shower?"

James got scared, he knew exactly what that stare meant and suddenly he realised her was in danger. He leapt down from his chair and ran from the room closely followed by Emily and Katie.

"Well girls let me introduce you to our way of stopping them arguing." Rob stated with a shrug as the howls of pain from his son echoed through the hall.

Naomi grinned at Effy, "Maybe my way wasn't perfect after all."

Effy smiled back as they heard James screech, "Maybe not, but from the sound of it, your way is a lot more fun."


End file.
